Just Another Color Story
by sybcj
Summary: This story is just another color story that begins with color... progresses to trust... grows through pain and trial... and ends with... meh. You hafta read it to find out. :P was never good with summaries. " chap 26 is surprisingly now here. O o
1. Never Ignore Strange Premonitions

_i'm not really a fan of any pairings to Raven... i want her to choose herself instead of us making up our own little fantasies about her love life...but i have hypocritical tendencies... so here's a story about Aqualad and Raven. _

_*some dude told me to warn people that this is an OOC.. although i have no idea what that means... you guys decide if it's really OOC... i think it's an AU... i think all fanfics are AU since most of the characters used aren't really their own..._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. I'm too poor to even afford a comic about them._

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Part 1: Never Ignore Strange Premonitions: Raven Learns the Hard Way

Raven and Aqualad were in an undersea cavern where they would have to spend a week together in order to finish this new training program Bumblebee organized. To know what this training is and how these two ended up as prison—er, training buddies, let's look back in time somewhere around 5-6 hours ago…

**It was just another normal day in the Titan Tower in Jump City. The other Titan's from the East Tower was also there paying their monthly visit and video game tournament. Speedy and Beast Boy were in full throttle as they were now competing for the championship in this video game tournament, while Mas y Menos were also at full throttle: bickering and fighting since both of them lost during the semi-finals of the tournament. And yes, they were arguing in uncensored Spanish. After all, only Bumblebee can understand what they're talking about most of the time, but as of now she wasn't around and the twins can practice their "freedom of expression." Starfire was heartily cooking something up in the kitchen with the usual pink blob oozing out of the pot. Raven was at another table reading her usual book. She seemed quite at peace, Starfire noticed, even though the place was noisier than the usual. Maybe, she thought, Raven has finally opened up and is starting to appreciate the noise of joyfulness that fills the room. Unknown to our alien princess, Raven was actually wearing earplugs so she couldn't hear any of the clamors and pandemonium happening in the room. She was happy in her own little quiet world as she reads her book. Although she had this premonition that she shouldn't wear the earplugs today, she still wore them anyway to avoid the noise and ruckus of the tower. Suddenly Cyborg burst in the room grinning like mad and said, "Listen up y'all! Bumblebee's got a great idea for a new training program for all us Titans!"**

…

…

**Starfire was still cooking, Mas y Menos were still quarreling, Beast Boy and Speedy were still at it, and Raven's still reading her book. **

**Robin and Bumblebee followed Cyborg into room. And seeing the room's sluggish response Robin, with his eyebrows raised, sympathetically tapped Cyborg's back, "Uh, Cy. I don't think they heard you. Maybe you need to be a bit louder." Cyborg, half embarrassed and pissed by the unresponsiveness of the people in the room, took out a megaphone ready to scream one word in mind that best expressed his feelings as Robin and Bumblebee readily cover their ears.**

"**BOOOOOOOOO-YAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"**

**The whole room shook and Starfire's um… meal fell on the floor, the TV screen broke, stopping the tournament, and the twins stopped bickering when they realized that their fearless leader was now in the room. So long freedom of expression, it was nice while it lasted. Raven didn't notice what was happening because of the earplugs, but Cyborg didn't mind, he could always fill her up on the details later since she tends to get black and scary when you disturb her. Now that Cyborg had the attention of almost all of the people in the room he began once again, "Now as I was saying…" Cyborg clears his throat and grinned again as he repeated, "Listen up y'all! Bumblebee's got a great idea for a new training program for all us Titans!"**

**Silence.**

**Then Beast Boy replied to the Cyborg's glee with the true feelings he too felt during that time….**

"**Uh… yay…?" **

**With that response, Robin began to explain what just that new training program was. "So basically this training program, as Cyborg has said, is for all us Titans, East and West, to participate in. We will divide ourselves in groups by lottery, specifically in groups of two. We will then be sent into different, isolated locations in or out the city where we will have to survive for a week and at the same time complete different tasks that are given to us without using our special powers. This training will not only require physical strength but also mental strength which the training will hopefully strengthen. But most importantly, this training will also help in our team building with the two Titan sectors, which is why the grouping will have to consist a member of both the East and West coast Titans. Now, any questions? None? Great. Bumblebee, your turn." Robin gestured with his hands and let Bumblebee stand in the center. She was carrying a top hat in her hand as she put pieces of papers that were in her other hand into the hat.**

"**Will two representatives from both the East and West Titans please come in front and take a piece of paper from the hat." **

**The twin "Speed Gonzales" (as I like to call them) were the representatives of the East Titans while Starfire and Beastboy were the represetantive of the East Titans. And the results are as follows:**

**Starfire - Speedy (Speedy was more than happy with the results)**

**Beastboy - Menos (The two somehow got each other's names)**

**Mas - Robin (Robin: *looks at Mas* Uh…. Hi…)**

**Cyborg - Bumblebee (Nobody actually saw either one of them picking out a paper)**

**Beast Boy wasn't at all pleased with the result and Robin wasn't happy either as he saw Speedy's arm around Starfire's shoulder as he plays his "moves" on her. Robin broke them off and clumsily put himself in between the two. He knew he was acting out of character but he can't help it when thoughts of this Red Marauder getting his slimy hands on Starfire was playing back and forth in his mind. His eyes then lock onto Cyborg and Bumblebee, happy as they can be. He knew something was off on how those two just **_**happen**_** to be partnered with each other and how the lottery ended up as it did. So with a little chat here and a little blackmail on an embarrassing pic of Cyborg that caters to a plunger and the toilet (don't ask) there, Robin got to swap and now Mas is now Starfire's partner and Robin is stuck with Speedy. It wasn't a total loss thought Robin, since the little Menos was far less a threat to him than this young testosterone-filled red head. Beast Boy was still displeased with the results and he mustered up all his brain cells to figure out what was wrong with the results. And- he got it. **

"**Aha! Dudes! Wait a minute! There's still someone missing in the results! Can I change partners with whomever from the East that still doesn't have a partner?" **

**Bumblebee and Cyborg looked at the young changeling with much trepidation. "Say, BB. You sure about that?" Cyborg tilted his head with eyes full of concern, "coz' the only person left is-" Cyborg was cut short when the door opened and came in the majestic being of the deep, with his long and damp jet-black hair shining more than the usual. His eyes were black (or was it violet..? I can't quite see) and if you peer into it, your very soul will succumb to his will. With intelligence, charm and strength to match his looks. He can be, what a lot of people (and fans) call, the perfect being. Apparently, he was taking a swim and only arrived now. **

**Everyone was staring at him. The Atlantean prince raised an eyebrow and nonchalantly asked, "What?"**

**Beast Boy's hopes and optimistic anticipation was shattered with one hit when he realized that Aqualad was the only East Titan left. He absent-mindedly picked up Menos, hug him and silently squealed, "Hold me."**

**While all of this was happening, Raven was still in her happy little world filled with silence. She finally finished what she was reading and decided to check up on what the others were doing. She stood up form where she was sitting and noticed that everyone was gathered in a group staring at Aqualad who stands opposite to them. As she approached them she began to have the same nagging feeling she got this morning, but this time it urged her to run away, but this feeling was overpowered by her curiosity at the strange situation she was seeing. She would then, after the following events that happened, never question her premonitions ever again. As she took off her earplugs she stood between the other Titans and Aqualad. **

"**So, what are you guys doing?" her voice was the same monotonous tone that she uses every time she spoke. It's not that she's not interested… **_**well... most of the time, **_**she thought, but this time she really did want to know what this weird atmosphere floating about was. As Raven's teammates look at her, they had remorseful look upon their faces knowing the fate that has been set upon her. They all knew that no matter how seemingly "perfect" Aqualad was, he was actually slightly snotty and proud. He only talked when it was necessary. And his cold demeanor and Raven's taciturn habits won't create a loving atmosphere that will ever foster teambuilding between the two. As these thoughts passed through the minds of the other Titans they silently made prayers for the two. While the two currently being prayed upon, Raven and Aqualad, could only simultaneously raise their eyebrow in bewilderment and ask in unison, "What?"**

**Bumblebee mustered up her courage and softly said, "Umm… since you guys were the only ones left… you guys are going to be partners in this new training program that we came up with…."**

**Now, it is a fact that Raven and Aqualad are known to be one of the "smart ones" in the group, but something in this strange situation and in this strange atmosphere, they found themselves in this strange predicament and somehow, strangely had the hardest time to swallow and digest to what Bumblebee had just said. As the computing continued in their minds and realization finally rung the bell, the two once again repeated their previous phrase only with much more intensity, "WHHHHHAAAATTTT!"**

**After much, MUCH explaining and with a help of a little force, the two, finally surrendered and agreed to go along with the training program. Before, the groups went to their respective training areas Beast Boy wanted to somehow help Raven since he felt responsible for Raven's situation at the present since he backed down on his earlier suggestion to swap partners. He tried to think for words that he could say to Raven so that he could at least lighten her mood. Just as Raven and Aqualad was about to jump out of the T-ship Beast Boy called out to Raven.**

"**Hey Raven, wait!"**

**Raven stopped. (Aqualad stopped too.) She looked at Beast Boy, "What..?"**

"**Uh..um… about the whole partner thing with Aqualad… it's not as bad as you think." Aqualad didn't say anything but merely raised his eyebrow.**

"**Oh? How so? We don't even have anything in common. And we have to live with each other for SEVEN. STRAIGHT. DAYS." Raven didn't mean to offend Aqualad… much. But what she said was true.**

**Beast Boy also knew what Raven said was slightly true but they did have something in common, "That's not true! Your guys do have something in common!"**

"**And that would be?" **

"**You both-" Beast Boy stopped midway, realizing that if he said that both of them were anti-social that would just earn him a trip to an alternate dimension and he didn't like those trips much. Raven was sternly looking at him now, waiting for his answer. Tension was rising up and Beast Boy suddenly blurted out, "YOU BOTH LIKE BLUE! So there! Have fun! You guys be nice to each other now!" he accidentally pushed Raven and Aqualad off the T-ship in his state of panic and Raven didn't have the chance to slap Beast Boy upside-down.**

The location of the training area was also supposed to be based on lottery but since Bumblebee felt sorry for her teammate, she decided to give them a location where Aqualad wouldn't feel too tense. It's not that she favored Aqualad more; it's just that she knew him better and she thought that it would be better if at least one of them would feel at ease first so that their training won't end up in disaster.

So here they are. Trapped in an underwater cavern for one week. The two hadn't spoke to each other since they got there.

Aqualad glanced at Raven.

Raven, too, glanced (it was more like a glare really) at the Atlantean prince.

Silence.

"So… Uh… You like blue, huh..?"

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_what do you guys think? sorry if it's not so big on words... English is not my first language and i'm trying to practice it through writing. constructive criticism is highly commended. =)_


	2. Little School Boys' Wish

_Part two...  
_

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Part 2: Little School boys' Wish: An Aqualad experience

Aqualad was now checking out the area, looking for a good place to put up their campsite/base for the seven-days-training. He didn't find it hard to go through the labyrinthine passageways in the cavern, in fact he kind of liked it. _Bumblebee's decision was right when she chose this location,_ Aqualad thought. While the Atlantean was having a good time spelunking the cavern, Raven still didn't move from her spot. She never did answer the Atlantean's question, she just sat down in her meditating position and started, well… meditating. "Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…. Azarath…" she continued to chant while there were different things that were going on her mind. _I knew I shouldn't have worn those earplugs. Why didn't I listen to my premonitions? Now I'm stuck here for a whole seven days with this amphibious humanoid hunk..! Wait a minute. Did I just use the word hunk? And on him?! I thought I already got over the whole crush thing since the last time… _The last time Raven was thinking about was when she first laid eyed on the Atlantean. It was when the her team took on a mission to stop Trident. When Aqualad popped-out of the water and showed his perfect muscles and everything else perfect about him, Raven found herself (and Starfire) totally love struck. _My eyes were literally pink and heart-shaped! And I swear I could see little pink hearts floating around me! _Raven shuddered at the thought. Everyone knew she didn't like anything that has to do with joy and happiness covered in frills and sunshine. ESPECIALLY pink and hearts! Raven stopped chanting and let out a soft gasp as a familiar and upsetting word came to mind. Love. This one word is the only word that seemed to evade her. It's not that she didn't know what that word means. But how it felt… she used to know what it felt like… at least that's what love was suppose to be for her... but then again… misery, regret, and anger followed after that "love" she once had. She recollected once again on her image on how out of character she was when she first saw Aqualad. "It's a wonder how the whole place didn't collapse."Raven thought over on what she just said. How _did _the place not collapse? Raven's power relied on her stoic composure and at that time, she was far from being apathetic. Before she could continue to ruminate on this Aqualad came back and called out to her.

"Hey, uh… Raven. You finished with your yoga?"

Raven scowled at him. "It's not yoga. I was just meditating."

"Yeah… whatever. You done yet? We still have to set camp and I'm sure your path to enlightenment won't help us with that."

Raven's eyes were turning black with rage. Luckily for Aqualad she remembered that using their powers weren't allowed. She slowly took a deep breath and went back to her meditating position, totally ignoring the Aquatic boy.

Aqualad knew that he was out of line and he deserved that cold shoulder treatment. He was completely rude just now and the only time he ever showed this side was when he and Speedy would argue. He doesn't know why he acted that way. He's usually more guarded and sweet when handling girls. Not that he thought Raven wasn't a girl. He was just a bit hurt when Raven didn't answer if she also likes the color blue. _I know that reasoning is that of a child but I can't help but feel hurt for some reason._ He knew of Raven's indifferent attitude but he never realized just _how_ indifferent she is at times. _And the guys call me the Ice Prince… I'm just hoar frost compared to her! _He observed the demon-girl. As he began analyzing, he realized just how small Raven was. _How old is she again? 17? 18? She's quite petite for her age. She looks just like a child from here. _Aquald lightly chuckled and realized he was acting like a spoiled brat before. He didn't like showing this side of him to others since he feels that it is imperative that he remains cool and composed.

He went closer to Raven.

"Raven?"

Raven did not respond. She continued on her mantra. But Aqualad persisted.

"Raven. Look. I'm sorry about before. That was totally unfair of me." He held the back of his neck with one of his hands while looking down as he said this.

"Azarath, Metrion-" Raven stopped chanting and opened one her eyes to peek at the downcast Prince of the deep. *sigh* "Are you really sorry?"

"Yes. Yes I am. I'm so sorry for my childish behavior." His eyes were sincere.

"No, that's alright. I'm sorry too." Raven got up and slowly advanced to the boy. She held out her hand towards him, "Since we're going to be stuck here for a week… we should cooperate more. So, how about it? Team?"

Aqualad happily reached out and shook hands with her, "Team."

They both gave a slight grin at each other.

"Now that we're a team, I'll show you what I've found." Aqualad took Raven's hand and slowly led her to one of the caves, but suddenly stopped.

"What's the matter?" a puzzled Raven asked.

"Before we get on with our training... There's something I need you to answer." His face was serious.

Raven merely raised a brow, still confused, "What?"

With a very straight face, he asked. "Do you really like blue?"

Raven couldn't believe he was still asking that stupid question. She merely stared at him, shook her hand off his grip, and then walked away.

"Wait!" As Aqualad reached for her hand, he slipped on a puddle.

*crash*

The Aquatic prince found himself on top of the Goth girl.

Now, in most situations this would be a good situation for a chance of romance. Unfortunately ever since Raven ignored her premonitions that day, everything was, let's just say, strange. Starting from the strange feelings of foreboding Raven had, to the strange atmosphere the Titans gave off when they looked at the two, which is later followed by the strange attitude the two gave to each other. But now. At that moment. Nothing was stranger when Aqualad found his hand strangely and conveniently on one of Raven's er—milk gland. When the sensation he felt in his hand started to register in his brain, he quickly realized how Raven's body, though petite and child-like, was _far _from being that of a child. (A/N: please take note that I'm basing Raven's size to that of the teen titan show in cartoon network.) In normal situations, this scene would be what every little school boy would wish for and Aqualad was lucky enough to have this opportunity. But as I have said, the two's situation right now was far from normal. So before Aqualad could go to his little "heaven", he went to another "heaven" when he suddenly (and strangely) found himself being slammed on the ceiling with a black aura. Full-force.

Aqualad fell to the ground, moaning in pain. Raven realized what she had done, "Oh no…" she ran towards Aqualad.

"Aqualad…." Her eyes full of concern, "Bumblebee won't disqualify me for using my powers as self-defense, right?"

Apparently, that concern on Raven's eyes was directed to another matter, not at the beaten up Atlantean and this didn't make him happy. "What the hell do you mean by that!?! YOU ALMOST KILLED ME! And you're worried that Bumblebee might disqualify you!?"

"I don't like my training hours to be added. Besides, I told you it was self-defense." Raven as-matter-of-factly deadpanned.

_I don't believe this woman!!!! _A vein formed on Aqualad's forehead, "Self-defense!?! I didn't do anything! I just accidentally slipped!"

"You may say you didn't do anything… but your hand sure did." Raven retorted.

The Atlantean's face began to turn red as he remembered the soft sensation he felt before he got crushed; "I told you it was an accident!!! Can't you just answer that simple question??!"

"Riiiiggghhhhtt…"Raven mockingly said as she rolled her eyes. Seeing that the prince didn't break any bones and still had strength to move, she turned around and began walking away, still not answering the question.

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_still deciding wheter or not to finish this story.... my head is hurting ALOT lately.. this is because of the summer heat... so, tell me guys what you think if you want. =)_


	3. Spelunking: Raven Discovers

_third part... not really what i had in mind... ah well... maybe i'll change this when i get the urge to..  
__this was supposed to be posted yesterday but i decided to stop writing... and then i decided to write anyway coz i just had coffee and watermelon. i discovered a new high when i ate those. hhmmm..... do i still need to put a disclaimer here?? ah, well. i don't own teen titans. so have fun reading now.! XP i like coffee!!_

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Part 3: Spelunking: Raven Discovers

Red. Orange. Yellow. The fire looked ethereal as it danced and crackled. Shadows looming around the cave waxed and waned accordingly to where the fire moved. Aqualad was roasting a whole chicken over the blaze while Raven was approximately 20 meters away from the bonfire and the prince of the deep. She busied herself by reading a book she had brought along, but glanced from time to time at the Atlantean to make sure he kept his distance. The boy couldn't believe she brought such an unnecessary object on their training.

*sigh* "Get closer to the fire Raven, you're going to catch a cold." Aqualad made a waved at the half-demon to come closer.

The Atlantean's invitation was answered by silence and the crackle of the fire.

He slapped himself. "You do know your gonna have to talk to me sooner or later. Our seven days start tomorrow morning and I'm fairly sure we need to _communicate _with each other in order to finish and _pass_ the training." This time he got a response, but it was only a glare.

_Unbelievable._

Only the sound of the fire was heard for some time. _Who knew that there could be someone obnoxious by being silent?_ Aqualad was thinking this as he observed the girl. _She really seems to like reading. _A couple of hair strands fell down her ear. Raven quickly brushed and tucked it back behind her ear; a small smile crept from her lips. _Did I just see what I just see? She… smiled? _The smile, he was sure of, was not a smirk but a pure, sweet and warm smile. It was small, but it held a strong beauty and innocence within it. _Wow. She's actually capable of doing that. Wonder what she's reading? _Raven sensed the Atlantean's stare and shot him another one of her trademark glares.

"Uh… chicken's ready." The Atlantean quickly said and held up the chicken.

Raven just raised a brow, "Not hungry." And went back to her book.

"Oh." Aqualad frowned.

Silence once again filled the room until a loud growl started echoing in the cave. Aqualad opened his mouth but was abruptly stopped with an icy voice, "DON'T… ! Not. A. Word." Raven put her hood up to hide her face that was now red with embarrassment. She stood up and made her way to the fireplace, carrying her book along. The meal was eaten in silence. What else would one expect from the two who are considered as the least talkative in their group? Aqualad was looking at Raven, trying to look for a topic for conversation. As he took another bite from his chicken he saw the book the she was reading earlier. The book looked old and… heavy. The design didn't intrigue him much. It was the books other feature that caught his attention. Raven noticed this and looked at the book as well after saying, "What?"

"The book…" Aqualad pointed at it. "it's…"

"What?" Raven repeated.

"It's….." Aqualad looked at Raven, "It's blue."

A vain popped on Raven's forehead.

"Ow!" the book came flying and hit Aqualad's head. "What was that for!?"

"I'm sleeping." Raven said flatly and went back to her earlier spot, _away _from the blue boy.

"You're gonna catch a cold."

"Another word and I'm gonna turn you to shark bait."

Aqualad sighed. "Ouch!" he rubbed his forehead that was now red and slowly forming a small mound. _Definitley obnoxious. _Aqualad reassured himself of that thought as he glowered at the small dark figure lying down at the other side. Suddenly, the ethereal smile and abashed face of the same small figure he was glowering at came to mind. He smiled. _Obnoxious? Definitely. Cute? There's still hope for her yet. _He looked at the figure lying down once more. A small shivering movement could be seen. The girl was definitely cold. He smiled again.

Raven awoke to find herself wrapped around a blanket and was near the bonfire which was now just small embers and black debris. _What the.? When did… How did I.? _Raven pulled herself to a sitting position and looked around. There was no sign of the blue humanoid amphibian. She instead found her book that she threw at him last night beside her.

"Good, you're already awake. Oh. Good morning by the way." Raven quickly raised her head to find Aqualad, standing near the opening of the cave. He was carrying a duffel bag with yellow and black stripes.

"Where did you get the tacky bag?" Aqualad frowned at the girl's reply to his greeting.

"It's… our first task." He placed the bag down and began rummaging through its contents. "This," He held up a piece of paper. "is a map to show us where we should set up our permanent camp. And this." he pointed at the duffel bag, "This is our tent. Unfortunately, there's only one." He looked at Raven and raised his hand to answer the face of disgust starting to form in the girl's face. "Don't worry. You can sleep in the tent and I'll sleep outside." He zipped the bag and picked it up. "When you're done with your morning rituals, if you have any, meet me back at the starting point." With that, he left the room.

When Raven got back to the starting point she wasn't very pleased with all the bags she saw. Luckily they were only allowed to carry a maximum of three and naturally, the boy has to carry the two heavier loads.

The cavern, they learned, wasn't actually just a normal cavern as Cyborg placed some gadgets of his. The two found this out when the entrance to their starting point was blocked when a loud door came down with a swish as they entered the other side. How did they know this was the mechanoids handiwork? Let's just say the door was ornate with familiar markings which was conveniently, "Blue." Aqualad absent-mindedly said as he pointed at the tattoo markings. Raven shot him a glare. "What? I was only talking about the markings of the door. That is Cyborg's _blue _trademark tattoos right?" the Atlantean calmly explained since he knew he was safe from being smashed by that gigantic door that was far heavier than the blue projectile book. Raven scowled.

They had been walking for hours now and passed by numerous entrances. Raven's feet were starting to hurt. Normally, this long distance walk wouldn't be a problem for her if she was floating but using their powers was forbidden and a nagging voice on her head kept on reminding her about the consequences of disobeying. Aqualad could hear Raven's heavy breathing from behind him. She had tried to keep hide it but there was no other sound that could be heard in the tunnel except their footsteps and breathing. He stopped and the goth girl gave him a questioning look. Even though the light was minimal, the Atlantean could see large beads of sweat covering the petite girl's face. The girl tried to glare at him but her eyes showed only exhaustion. The Atlantean sighed and reached out his hand, "Give me your bag. I'll carry it for the rest of the trip."

"I'm fine. I can carry this myself." Her voice was slightly shaking but still monotonous. It was obvious that the half-demoness needed to rest.

"You don't have to hide it. I know you're tired. Now stop being so thick-headed and-" the Altlantean stopped in mid sentence as he felt the earth beneath him slightly trembled. Raven felt the tremor too and looked at him. Another tremor, but this time it was stronger. The tremble seemed to come from the opposite side of where they were going. _Strange. I didn't see any signs of the tunnel faltering when we passed by there. And there shouldn't be any earthqu- _the whole tunnel shook. Small rocks started to fall from the ceiling and bigger rocks were about to follow. The Atlantean cursed and quickly pulled Raven at the wrist. The girl lost grip of the bag she was holding and it fell to the ground.

"Wait! The bag!" it was too late. The tunnel that was collapsing at the other side already caught up to them and crushed the bag.

"Don't tell me… this is what… Bumblebee had in mind for a test!!" the Atlantean said this between heavy breaths as adrenaline filled his body. Raven's feet weren't touching the ground anymore because of the speed and force of the Atlantean. The collapsing tunnel was still after them and the prince bawled before giving his final burst of energy to jump to a cave entrance. The two tumbled and turn on the ground until inertia was able to set them in place. Raven stared at the death pile of rocks that could've smashed them if it weren't for the Atlantean.

_Aqualad! _Raven began looking around for the prince and found him a good 40 meters away from where she had been. He was panting really hard. _Thank goodness, he's alive. _Raven couldn't feel more relieved to know that they both made it when suddenly she heard the boy laugh. The half-demoness became worried that maybe the prince collided his head on a rock somewhere and disoriented him. She went near the Atlantean that was still laughing. She peered at the Atlantean's face to check if there were bruises somewhere on his forehead. The Atlantean stopped laughing. He stared into the girl's eyes with a look of tenderness and warmth. It was only now that Raven realized that the Atlantean's eye's were just like hers, a sad amethyst… The Atlantean smiled a very caring smile and said in a blissful voice, "Beautiful…" Raven's cheeks turned red as she scowled at the Atlantean. The boy laughed, "Come on! Join me!" he pulled the girl down by the shoulders and let her lie down beside him. She still didn't stop scowling at the Atlantean.

"Hahahaha. You're looking at the wrong direction. You're suppose to look there." The boy pointed at the ceiling.

When Raven looked at the direction of the boy's finger she gasped. What she saw on the ceiling was the dark sky covered with blue stars. It was only then that she realized that they didn't have the flashlight anywhere near them but she could still see. _So this is what he meant when he said beautiful…. _Raven's face turned red at embarrassment for misunderstanding what the prince said before. _Wait… Stars here on earth aren't supposed to have that color… _Raven tried to look at the celestial bodies up more closely when something fell down and hit her face. She sat up and tried to wipe off what had fallen on her. It was slightly gooey and shined like the lights on the ceiling.

"Undersea cave worms." The Atlantean said while still looking at the ceiling, "They're kind of like fireflies on land only that they remain as worms and never grow wings…" he looked at Raven and made a pointing gesture at the gooey substance, "And that… that's their poop." Raven's face turned green and she quickly cleaned herself of the shining poop.

"Hahahahahahahaha!" Raven scowled at the boy when she suddenly remembered the bag she had dropped. She quickly stood up and ran towards the collapsed entrance.

"Shit. This is my entire fault." Raven tried to suppress the guilt that was slowly oozing by way of her powers.

"What's wrong?" the Atlantean was now standing behind the goth girl.

"The bag I was carrying…. I…. er… dropped it when we were running…" Raven turned and closed her eyes, ready for a scolding.

"Oh, okay then. Guess we have to look for other sources of food then. But first we have to rest for a while and get our strength back." Aqualad calmly said and began reaching into the duffel bag to set up the tent. Raven was shocked at the boy's response to her carelessness. Normally, Robin would be screaming and ranting by now being the obsessive compulsive leader that he is. Raven expected a same reaction from the Atlantean prince that radiated an aura of perfection about him. As Raven tried to look for reasons to explain the prince's behavior she not knowingly began to look at the ceiling. It was high and the worms really seemed like stars. The strong yet gentle cerulean light emanated throughout the room. The light was ethereally intoxicating and made her calm for some reason. _Maybe… maybe the light coming from the worms is calming him down, too….it really is beautiful. _Raven began to feel weak and dizzy. The last thing she saw was the blue light before everything turned black.

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_i was planning on describing the place more but my head's too busy spinning.. have you met my leprechaun friend yet?? i call him scarat! say hi to the people scarat. _

_*scarat waves*_

_i know it doesn't sound irish but i like the name and i like irish brogues... if my mind still decides to continue writing this even after i lose my high then that's good news to you guys who want to know the story. anyway, review if you want to. scarat really wants to know what you guys think._

_see ya! =)_


	4. Alone In Nothingness

_A/N: the internet here is getting buggy.... so i'll just post this before i start to lose connection again. i was planning on posting this earlier but i got caught up in chapter 5 which i finished already but i won't post it just yet... i'm planning on making limmericks! i know that it has nothing to do with this..but you never know when you can use limmericks.. right scarat??? anyway, rhis part is slightly saf and dark but i made sure to and some sweet moments as well. i don't really like sweet moments but they go good with stories. so here's part 4._

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Part 4: Alone In Nothingness: Raven Heart

"_**Raven….**__"_

Raven felt weak.

"_**Raven….**__"_

Her whole body ached. But her head ached more. The pain was piercing. It felt like her skull was being slowly opened and pried with a corkscrew. She could feel her body burning. In fact, there was steam coming out from her body.

"_**Raven…**__" _

The half-demoness finally got some of her senses back and quickly sat up. She found herself in a white infinite space of nothing.

"**Raven…my child…**" the young girl immediately got up when she heard the familiar voice calling her. This voice had been constantly echoing in her head for months now. It always sent a chill through each and every part of the girl whenever she hears it. She tried to block it away.

"**Now, that's not a kind thing to do… trying to block out your own father...**" the voice was deep and snake like. One could sense evil spewing in every word it said.

"I have no father!" Raven screamed at the nothingness that surrounded her.

"**I'm hurt.**" The voice was mockingly sarcastic. "**You already know that you can't turn your back on what has already been written in the book of fates. It is only a matter of time. Your pitiful façade won't keep you away from me. You are my daughter and I am your father. Your whole purpose for being created is to serve me.**" The voice began to laugh menacingly. Raven's head started to hurt even more. She felt her whole body being consumed by fire. "**That's right. Feel the fires of hell creeping into your body! In the end, you are still weak and pathetic. You can't do anything without using your powers.**" The young girl couldn't stand up anymore, the pain was too much. She fell down to the ground, holding her head with her hands, screaming.

"I told you I have no father!!!! I am not weak!! I am not scared!!!" Raven couldn't bear the pain she felt. She was scared. And she knew how weak she was but she didn't want to admit it. Her surroundings began to smoke and burn. The whole place was consumed in an angry wave of fire. Raven couldn't move. She remained on the floor, writhing in pain. Suddenly a huge dark shadow began to form in front of her. Raven tried to back away but she couldn't. It wasn't just because her whole body was in excruciating pain. Truth be told, she was too scared. The shadow began to materialize and gained more depth and form. When it had finished, there was now a huge red demon with four eyes standing in front of the girl's lifeless body. This demon was called Trigon. And he, is Raven's father. The giant demon clutched the girl's chin with his hand and raised her up so that they could meet eye to eye. Raven tried to struggle, but couldn't. She just felt too weak… too afraid. Tears began to flow out of her eyes as she looked at her father. His four eyes looked mockingly at her. They were cold and only feelings of hatred and pure evil could be found.

"**Why do you struggle so hard my daughter? Why do you evade your demon heritage? You know it yourself that you cannot escape. You are all alone my dear. If only you would embrace the demon within you..**"

"I am not alone!!!" Raven's scream was weak.

"**Do you honestly believe that?**" the demon snorted. "** Do you honestly **_**believe**_** that you're no longer alone because you have these worthless peons you call 'friends'? We both know better don't we, my daughter..? We both know that darkness you keep deep inside your heart.**" The demon tightened his grip and held the girl closer to him. "**Don't think I don't know… your apprehensions, your feelings of hatred, and most importantly… your fear of yourself… and your fear that your friends are all just lying to you. I know of them my daughter.. You cannot hide them from me. You are always alone, only **_**I**_** can take that feeling of emptiness inside you. **_**I **_**sired you. And it is **_**my **_**powers that you use, that you inherited. Don't you forget that.**" The demon let go of the girl. A large thump sounded as she fell on the ground. The half-demoness' eyes were wide and tears kept on flowing… The demon lord was pleased with what had done, and with a triumphant smile, he left. Raven lay there, not moving. Her body was still burning but she could no longer feel the pain. Her body grew numb. She wasn't just feeling nothing. She was feeling a void grow within her. She was becoming less than nothing. She was useless. She was helpless. She was… alone. She laid there for what she felt to be a day until she felt her hand twitch. _I'm still alive…? _Just when she was about to recover, the words of her father rang once again in her mind. _**You're alone…**_

"No…." the young girl clenched her fists until they bled, she did the same with her lower lip. "No…." she saw her father smirking in front of her.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

Everything turned black again.

"Raven?"

Her head hurts.

"Raven?"

Her body felt weak and her back hurt like hell… _Hell?_

_Gasp!_

Raven woke up with a start. She was breathing heavily and fast that her head started to spin. She couldn't see anything but blurs. She was about fall when a hand caught her.

"Are you alright?"

_A voice…? Is it him..? No… this voice feels… warm…._ Raven slowly opened her eyes and at first saw nothing, then she saw something shine. Her eyes cleared a bit more and she saw the familiar cerulean blue light that pooped on her earlier. She was back. There was no white space. No fire from hell. But most importantly. There was no voice of Trigon. There was just blue. Raven felt a small relief when she saw the warm blue light that she began closing her eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" Raven quickly opened her eyes and saw that the blue Atlantean was supporting her with one hand and holding her hand with the other. Raven quickly took her hand away from the prince's grip. She looked at it and noticed that it was warmer compared to her other hand. And it was the same hand that she was able to feel and twitch earlier when she was in nothingness.

"You should go back to sleep. Your injury is still not fully healed." Raven shifted her attention to the Atlantean.

"Injuries?"

"Yeah. You actually have a pretty bad cut at your lower back. I administered first aid on it but you still need time to recover… Hey can I ask you something?" Aqualad gently laid her down.

"If it's about my favorite color, you can just crawl into a hole and die." Raven tried to make her voice cold but failed. Aqualad smiled at her. _His smile feels warm… like the cerulean light... _Raven thought to herself.

"Don't worry. I just wanted to ask you how you can heal so fast."

"Oh… that's part of my powers.." Raven hid a cringe. _No… it's__ his__ powers…. _The young girl tried to stop the tears forming in her eyes.

"Hmmm… I thought you didn't want Bumblebee to punish you?" the Atlantean's voice didn't sound taunting. He was just plain curious.

"It's involuntary. Like your heart beating." The boy smirked.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Bumblebee. As long as you answer my other question." Raven stared at the prince with suspicion. "It has nothing to do with color. I don't feel like crawling in a hole just yet." The Atlantean's eyes looked serious but caring.

"Fine. What is it?"

"Who's Trigon?" Raven's face turned pale. "I sorta heard you mumbling the name while you were sleeping…" Raven gritted her teeth and clenched her fist. She looked away from the Atlantean.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me. I'm just worried about you. You looked so frightened when you were saying that name." The Atlantean's voice was sincere. Raven looked back at the Atlantean and she was taken aback. His eyes were full of compassion. It wasn't like the eyes her team mates give her. They did show care and concern but their eyes could go only so far until it was just sympathy reflecting. The Atalantean's eyes seem to see through her soul. They were filled with empathy, like he knows how she exactly feels. Raven turned away again and sighed.

"He's my father…" the boy was shocked that the hard-headed girl replied. He smiled again and petted her head tenderly. "Thank you. You don't need to tell me anything else. For now, get some rest." Raven pulled the sheets closer to her.

"If you don't stop petting me like a dog, I'll turn you to shark bait." The Atlantean just continued petting her.

"You won't be able to do that with your current condition."

"I can always use my powers."

"Bumblebee will find out and add your training hours."

"I can always make it look like an accident." Raven turned to face the Atlantean and gave him a playful glare. The Atlantean held both of his hands up in surrender and smiled tenderly at the girl.

"Wipe that stupid smile off your face."

"Yes, ma'am." Silence filled the room. The Atlantean still didn't move away from his spot. He immediately went back to the goth girl's side after setting up a small bonfire near them. And an hour or so had already passed and he still didn't move. Although she didn't want to admit it, Raven felt very relieved knowing that he's still there.

"Hey." Raven's monotonous voice was starting to come back.

"What is it madam?"

"Don't call me that. Are you going to just sit there the whole time?"

"Until your wound fully recovers. I'm sure that won't take too long."

"Well… if you're just going to stay there then…" Raven's monotonous voice started to falter. The Atlantean raised a brow.

"What is it?"

"Well… I'm going to ask you a favor…no..not a favor..it's a command….it's payback for answering your stupid questions earlier.." the goth girl was stammering. She was trying so hard to get the words she wanted t o say out. Aqualad found this part of Raven quite adorable.

"So what is your command your gothiness.?" Aqualad made a semi bow.

"Another joke from you and I'll seriously make you shark bait." She glared at the Atlantean. But he merely smiled and nodded. The half-demon started to fidget until one of her hand came out from the blankets. The Atlantean wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do. Raven covered her head before saying.

"Just for now… Hold my hand…. No questions…" the Atlantean was shocked at the request but did not complain. He held her hand gently. Beneath the sheets, the girl's face was red.

"I won't let go until you recover…or until you order me to do something else."

"Shut up." Raven was finally able to find her usual voice. The Atlantean just smiled once more.

"Sleep well."

"I said shut up."

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_awww... the two had a moment... reveiw if you'd like! have fun! =P_


	5. Fish Are Friends, Not Food

_A/N: so i was about to write the succeding chapters for this story when i suddenly tipped over my cup and water splashed on my laptop's keyboard. i had to stop and let it dry out. so while i was doing nothing, i began thinking about one of the comments i got about making this into M. i involuntarily shuddered as i tried to imagine it... my mind is more graphic when i think too much and the values that was taught to me made me feel uncomfortable about making this into lemon (that's what they call it right?) so i'm really sorry if i can't meet that demand for now... i couldn't continue on the other chaps and scenes after all that thinking. i actually tried to make sketches and stuff just to get my head straight but nothing is coming up. writer's block i guess. good thing i finished this chap before. maybe i'll be able to make an M rating story after some brainwashing. hahaha. but i'm really considering making one in the future. so there... i think my monologue has gone far enough. here's chap5, enjoy =D_

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Part 5: Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Aqualad and Sushi

When Raven woke up, she saw that the Atlantean was true to his word. Even though he fell asleep, his hand was still holding hers. Raven showed a smile that none of her friends ever saw before. Only the undersea cave worms were awake to witness this "miracle." But make no mistake, this smile was directed and the Atlantean sitting upright, slightly snoring. Raven slowly stretched out her arm to pat the prince's head when her stomach started to growl. The Atlantean slowly woke up and saw that the half-demoness was awake. Her face was turned away from him so that she could hide her blushing face. Aqualad yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Good morning! Seeing that your stomach is growling loud enough to be an alarm clock, I can safely assess that your wound is a whole lot better..!" Raven glared at the Atlantean. "Wrong choice of words, huh?" the Atlantean hit the mark as he was sent to a nearby wall.

_SMACK!_

"Here you go." Aqualad gave Raven the bowl of hot porridge. Raven, without looking or thanking the Atlantean, took the bowl and ate. The Atlantean moved 30 meters away from the girl before he sat opposite to her, and rubbed his swelling cheek. He looked at the girl.

"Good thing I was able to put that instant porridge in my bag. Hahaha." The room was silent for a while.

"You mean, this is the only food we have?" the girl still didn't look at the prince.

"Yes. Pretty much."

"So that means you haven't eaten anything since…since…." Raven wasn't sure how long she was asleep.

"Since a day and half, according to the transmitter." The prince finished her sentence. The goth girl stopped eating her porridge and finally looked at the prince. Now that she was better, she just now realized that the there were scratches and bruises all over the Atlantean. The smaller injuries were healing fine but the other more serious ones looked like they were untended and an infection could form. And although Raven found him sleeping, his eyes were somewhat lifeless and tired. If any of his fan-girls would see his current self, they would die in fright. _Don't tell me he just took care of me and stayed beside me the whole the time I was unconscious? _Raven felt a small hint of guilt entering her.

"Hey…."

"Yes? You need something else?"

"No. I just…" the following words were inaudible.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

"I said…" her voice was still too low.

"Try raising your voice a bit more." The girl took a deep breath.

"Come here for a second…"

"Excuse me?"

"I said come here…"

"But the restraining order—"

"Come here dammit! Before I change my mind!" The Atlantean followed and came 25 meters closer.

"Come closer…"

"You're not gonna smack me again are you..?"

"If you don't shut up and come closer, I _will_ smack you." The boy said no more and came closer. The two were now only 2 feet apart. The Atlantean closed his eyes.

"Just make sure you slap me on the other side. At least, there'd be symmetry." The Atlantean was readying himself for the impact and was surprised when something was shoved inside his mouth. It tasted somewhat salty but tasty. The boy opened his eyes, the spoon still inside his mouth. Raven's face was slightly red and she didn't look at the Atlantean when she took another spoonful of porridge to feed the boy. He couldn't help but smile.

"You don't need to do this you know."

"Shut up and open your mouth." The boy opened his mouth and ate the porridge. There was silence once more but the girl still kept on spoon-feeding that aquatic prince. When Raven offered the last spoon of porridge the Atlantean declined.

"You eat that." He slowly pushed the spoon towards her.

"Stop being such a gentleman, Mr. Perfect." The goth girl offered the spoon full of porridge once more. The aquatic prince raised a brow and smiled.

"Okay then. I won't be a gentleman. But I still won't eat that. My "Perfect" self has grown tired of the taste of porridge." His voice was slightly haughty but Raven knew he was just joking. The girl didn't feel like arguing with him.

"Whatever." She ate the last porridge. The Atlantean began cleaning up but the half-demon stopped him. "Do that later."

"Okay. Why?"

"Let me tend to your wounds. I can heal you."

"You don't need to do that." The aquatic prince gracefully declined. But Raven couldn't care less about grace and pinned the boy down to the ground.

"Stop acting all tough. I could feel that you're in a lot of pain."

"You can _feel?_" the boy raised a brow.

"Yeah. It's one of them involuntary things." The goth girl explained.

"Oh. But the healing the other person thing isn't involuntary, is it?"

"And your point is?"

"Training hours."

"That isn't gonna happen."

"And why do you say that.?"

"Coz' Bumblebee won't know that I used my powers."

"And I—"

"Won't say anything. Not unless you're up to becoming shark bait." The girl said warningly.

"But you—"

"Can always make it look like an accident." The Altantean sighed.

"Fine. Do whatever you want." With that, the half-demon began healing him. _I just can't seem to win. _The Atlantean covered his eyes with his arm as he thought. _She always tries so hard to act tough, too. And she's telling me not to put on a tough face. How hypocritical. But then again… it really is easier to just say than to do...*sigh* We all tend to be hypocrites at times.. _The Atlantean moved his arm a bit so that he could peek at the girl. The half-demon was concentrating very hard. There were bead sweats forming around her face. The Atlantean began suspecting something was going on. He could feel his wounds recovering in a fast pace but how the pain was ebbing away, was just abnormal... that's when Aqualad realized a hidden truth in the girls powers. He quickly held the goth girl's hand and got up.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"What the hell am I doing?! I should be asking you that!" his face was upset.

"What?"

"Don't even try to play dumb. You think you have the right to scold me about not acting tough when you yourself force yourself to do it."

"What are you—"

"I know that you're taking away the pain I'm feeling by transferring it on yourself." The half-demon fell silent with shock. _How did he find out? _The Atlantean looked at her and frowned. "Do you always do this?"

"…. Do what?"

"Taking away other people's pain and selfishly carrying them by yourself." The goth girl bowed her head.

"Sometimes… they never notice… so I just—"the young girl was surprised when the Atlantean suddenly hugged her.

"Don't do that. Stop torturing yourself. There are already enough people like me." The girl was confused with what he just said but when the Atlantean looked at her with those empathetic eyes of his, she couldn't speak. She just nodded. The boy smiled.

"Well, now that's done. We have to go look for food." The Atlantean got up as he said this.

"How are we gonna do that?"

"There's a watering hole that connects to the ocean at the other room. But the tunnel is long and only I can pass through it without dying." Raven looked at him. "I found it before you fainted." Raven scowled.

"Don't remind me…" the boy frowned but didn't say anything. "How long will it take you to reach the other side.?" The Atlantean paused for a while before answering.

"About 45 minutes or maybe an hour…"

"Okay then… so you go and get some fish while I'll try to find a way out that doesn't involve swimming how many miles through an underwater tunnel." The Atlantean's face turned pale. "What?"

"What do you mean get some fish????"

"So that we can eat them. Duh." Aqualad made a crossing gesture with his arms.

"No way! I was thinking I go get something that doesn't involve fish or other creatures in the sea."

"Like…?"

"Um…. Seaweed! Yeah, seaweed!"

"Seaweed??" Raven gave him a 'you've-gotta-be-kidding-me' look.

"What? Seaweed's good. It's got lots of iodine and stuff."

"Uh…no."

"C'mon! Japanese people eat seaweed! That's why their skin's so white!" Raven raised a brow.

"Do you actually know what food Japan is famous for?"

"Uhh… Sushi?"

"That's right. And sushi is—"

"Covered in seaweed! See!" the aquatic boy's face brightened.

"Yes, but you do know what's in the middle of the sushi?" the boy's bright expression suddenly turned dark as he pouted.

"Oh…. I have gotta find a better example..."

"You go do that while getting the fish and some seaweed if you want." The goth girl shooed him away. The boy sighed.

"I feel so blue…" he said this under his breath before he reluctantly jumped into the water.

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_i was planning on editing this chapter, but couldn't. maybe i'll edit it some other time when my writers block if it's so short. you can review if you want. thanks. =)_


	6. Beneath the Blue Worm Light

_A/N: okay.. i finally got to type something for the story... i just remembered now why i never made writing my hobby. i can always make/imagine a beginning and an ending, but i can never think of the events that happen in between.. so the later on scenes and chapters will be different from what i planned when i started making this. only slightly though.. oh and Aquaven11... you don't need to feel ashamed of anything. i was bound get mental block sooner or later. good thing my mind is too spontaneous as to just stay blocked. hahahaha. =D i'm really glad you guys put up with my writing. i found it confusing when i read the earlier chaps i made. hahaha. well, anyway... here's part 6. (the title reminds me of somewhere over the rainbow or was that another song...?)_

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Part 6: Beneath the Blue Worm Light: Raven Deserves It The Most

The familiar red, orange, and yellow light glows along with the cerulean color of the ceiling. The female Titan, Raven, sits near the fire eating a freshly cooked fish. It was one of the best fish she's ever had but don't tell that to her partner. And where is this partner of hers? He's….somewhere in a darker corner in the room busily.…. Chanting.

"Memorare, o piisima Virgo Maria, non esse auditum a saeculo, quemquam ad tua currentem praesidia, tua implorantem auxilia, tua petentem suffragia esse derelicta. Nos tali animati confidentia ad te, Virgo Virginum, Mater, currimus; ad te venimus; coram te gementes peccatores assistimus. Noli, Mater Verbi, verba nostra despicere, sed audi propitia et exaudi. R. Amen."

_He's been at that for 3 straight hours already. _The goth girl could not believe the perseverance and dedication the aquatic prince had been showing for the fish that she's eating. _He's worse than when Beast Boy mistook the fresh milk for his soy milk... Hmm…? He stopped. Finally._

"Are you finished with your funeral prayers? Come on over here and eat your seaweed already." The boy said nothing. He slowly stood up and went near the bonfire. Raven had to suppress a scream when she saw the poor Atlantean; the sight was scary enough to frighten the daughter of the great demon. His face was drained of all color, his eyes were turning grey and so was his hair. In short, he looked like an old dying man.

"Umm…you…okay..? " the boy did not answer but tried to give her a faint smile. He pointed at the fish bones on the goth girl's plate.

"You.. want the bones??" the boy nodded.

"Er… here.." she handed him over the plate and with a small nod, the boy went back to his funeral spot. He dug a hole and put the fishbone inside. He mumbled something before burying the bones. A few minutes later, he started chanting again. Raven slapped her face in disbelief. _Is he planning to kill himself by praying all day? It's just fish..! _As if the mourning prince read her mind, he stopped chanting and spoke.

"We tend to take little things for granted. Two of those fishes you ate just gave birth. Their babies are all orphans now…" Raven let a small sigh out before coming near the Atlantean. She was about to drag the boy near the fire and force-feed him when he suddenly spoke.

"Every life deserves to be happy. Every life deserves to be respected. Every life deserves to be loved. No matter how little anyone things of them." The mourning prince turned to look at the half-demoness. His eyes were sad but full of compassion and sorrow. The girl could feel that the boy was in much pain and loneliness ._ His loneliness.. it's almost the same as mine. He's almost as lost as me… _He gave her a weak smile and looked at the fish grave once more. "I also give silent prayers to the land animals I eat.. like the chicken we ate last time. But I tend to be more compassionate when it comes to aquatic creatures… maybe it's because I could talk to them and feel their pain more…." The Atlantean gave out a pathetic laugh. He didn't feel like eating. He didn't feel like doing anything. Tears were about to fall down his eyes when a small hand rested on his shoulders. Then he heard the goth girl's soft voice.

"Réquiem ætérnam dona eis Dómine; et lux perpétua lúceat eis. Requiéscant in pace. Amen." The boy was shocked and turned to look at the girl. Raven gave him a gentle smile.

"I'm sure the animals from both land and sea are grateful for your concern for them. But I don't think they'll like it if you kill yourself over them and there'd be no one left to give them a 3 hour funeral prayer." She reached her hand out to the kneeling Titan. "Now get up and come with me to where it's warmer. Your seaweed meal will go bad and the underwater flora will start hating you for not appreciating their sacrifice as well…" The Atlantean gave her a smile and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Thank you." The hug took the girl by surprise but didn't do anything to the boy. Well, she did give a small hug back and smile.

"Don't thank me. Thank the fish for being so considerate to become my meal." The two went near the bonfire and the aquatic prince ate. His color began to come back and the graying hair was turning black. Raven sat beside him and watched as the boy ate the sea grass.

"How can you eat that..?" the girl's face showed a hint of disgust.

"Uh… you chew it… then you swallow." The girl glared at him. "Just kidding. When you get by the slimy feeling and the weird taste, it's pretty okay."

"Ugh…. I can't imagine myself eating that raw."

"And I can't imagine people eating aquatic creatures without a care." The atmosphere turned silent for a while.

"So… you know Latin, huh?" the Atlantean asked after eating a big helping of kelp.

"Yeah.. I also know Romanian and Ancient Sanskrit… and also other dead languages.."

"Oh… Well, that's interesting."

"Um, yeah.. They're really useful when I'm reading my books but they don't do much in social interaction. This is actually the only time I used it for praying…"

"Yeah… I know what you mean. The last time I prayed in Latin was when…" the boy did not finish his story. Just remembering that incident made his mood turn sour. The atmosphere became silent again.

"You don't have to tell me if you want don't want to." The Atlantean noticed his depressing mood.

"Ah… Um… sorry about that."

"It's okay. There are also things I can't say."

"Yeah… Hahahaha. I guess Beast Boy was right. We do have a lot of things in common." The boy smiled.

"Yeah… I guess the little eco-bag was right." The girl thought for a while before speaking. "We both know Latin."

"We're both anti-social."

"We both have the same eye color."

"We both like blue!" the goth girl shot him a glare.

"Nice try."

"Tch." The Atlantean snapped his fingers. "And I thought you'd fall for that."

"Not in your lifetime, shark bait." The young girl smirked.

"Is the shark bait thing going to be a permanent nickname for me?"

"It's for future reference."

"I think I'd rather take the crawling in the hole option."

"It's a slower death if you take that option."

"Yes but I don't have to worry about any nicknames." The young girl raised a brow.

"You're weird."

"Not as weird as you are." The girl shook her head in disbelief on the boy's nature. The boy smiled. It was the first time in a very long time that he was able to hold a carefree conversation like this. The loneliness that he has been carrying for years seemed to gradually disappear when he's with this girl. _She's hard-headed, obnoxious, way too serious, and she hides her emotion from other people. She's worse in social interaction than I am but.. I somehow feel like I can tell her everything. _The boy stared at the girl with fondness. The half-demoness noticed this and looked away. Her face was once again red. She could not understand why this boy made her feel happy. _People describe him as the epitome of perfection_._ A being so high and mighty that people can't help but bow down to him. But when we talk like this… he's like a normal boy. But I can also sense him struggling with something…_ the young girl remembered the boy's earlier words. _Everyone deserves to be happy huh…? Can someone like me deserve something like that? Impossible. I don't deserve to be happy. I don't deserve that warm smile he gives me. But… he makes me feel like I deserve to be happy too… _The girl frowned. Thoughts of her previous "love" came to mind. The Atlantean saw the girl's disheartened face.

"Hey Raven… you okay?" he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What…? Oh… yeah…" the girl absent-mindedly looked at the fire. There was a dead air for a moment until the Atlantean thought of something.

"Hey. Do you want to hear a secret..?" the girl looked at him. "You remember how I fainted when I got back from getting the fishes?"

"Yeah… I was wondering why you fell for no good reason."

"There was a perfectly good reason why I fainted..!" the girl waited for this reason of his. "When I was going back to the entrance I…well…got scared.. Coz… I…."

"Beacuse?"

"A school of fish blocked the entrance…."

"A what?" the sad mood of the girl was now exchange by intrigue.

"A school of fish…"

"You mean.. little—"

"Medium."

"Okay… a school of medium sized fishes scared you?"

"Oh, hell no!!" the boy looked at the girl, his face was scarlet red. She raised a brow. "They came after me. That's what scared me to death!!" his face, although red, was dead serious. Silence filled the air until….The goth girl. The child of the demon Trigon. The girl with the deadpan voice and apathetic expression found herself… laughing… Now, there have been many theories on what would happen if the half-demoness were to actually laugh. The most usual and agreed upon theory would be the end of the world: frogs falling from the sky, earth splits in half, and et. al. Other theories would suggest that the boundaries of different realities would be destroyed and chaos will ensue. Some theories even go as far as believing that it is impossible for the girl to laugh and if she would try to flies would come out of her mouth. But whatever the theories and theorists hypothesized, they never thought about how she would sound like or how the girl would laugh. Right now, all of the people that would've heard her laugh would dropped and dislocated their jaws. Her voice, dare one describe, was angelic. Her monotonous tone disappeared and a voice so sweet and as intoxicating as the cerulean light in the cave echoed. She was like an innocent child; pure and benevolent. Of course there was teasing tone that came along with it. The Atlantean would've enjoyed the rare laughter girl was giving out but teasing tone was aimed at him. His face was redder than before. But hearing the young girl's laughter made his embarrassment worthwhile. _I can't believe I just told her such an embarrassing thing. She's the only person I've personally told about my greatest fear. Maybe I shouldn't have told her..?_ He looked at the laughing half-demoness. The Atlantean smiled. _But then again… I'd tell her every embarrassing thing about me as long as I can make her smile. This girl… she deserves to be happy the most. _The cerulean lights began glowing more, like it was joining in the girl's joyful laughter.

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_i know that this chap is reeeeeaaaallllyyyy short. but i wanted to capture this sweet moment they've been having before everything turns... well you guys might have already guessed what's going to happen in the later on chaps. it's like soap operas... you can tell what's gonna happen but you still watch anyway. hehehehe. you can review if you want. =)_

_oh, and the prayer the two said really was in Latin... i got those from the net a long time ago... they're prayers for the dead. and if you don't get the eco-bag thing, go check on "Why You Should Buy This Titan!! Beast Boy" to get a little bg on that._


	7. Forever Bonded By Blood

_A/N: for those who read the previous chapter. aqualad does have a fear of school of fishes.. i didn't make that one up. anyway... i don't know how to continue this story anymore.. i'll tell you why once you reach the bottom of this page. so before i go on nagging about my problem in this story you guys can read first.. =)_

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Part 6: Forever Bonded By Blood

"Are you done mocking me now?"

"I..*breath* wasn't…*breath* mocking you…" the young girl had finally calm down after laughing for a considerable amount of time. Her new found fact about the Atlantean Prince was quite a shock and a point of amusement for her.

"I'm sure you weren't mocking me. You were just laughing along with me, right?" His voice was sarcastic.

"Look who's being mockingly sarcastic?" the goth girl did not mind the prince's sarcasm. She was, after all, making fun of his fear of school of fishes. And with that thought coming back to her head, she tried to stifle a laugh from coming out but failed. The aquatic boy smiled.

"You should laugh more often. The sound of your voice is beautiful when you laugh." the Atlantean's words shocked the girl that she stopped laughing as her face began to blush.

"What the hell are you talking about..?"

"It's true. When you laugh like that your deadpan ilk totally disappears."

"That's impossible. I was born with a blithe disregard of everything."

"That's not true. Your being expressionless demeanor is just a skill you've practiced and mastered for a long time. Kind of like that trademark glare you like to show off. Because if you were really born with an apathetic nature then you wouldn't have been able to laugh like that." The girl blushed even more.

"Stop saying things like that. If you don't I'll turn you into shark bait. No, wait. I don't even need to go that far coz' I could just always make you fish bait since you're scared of fishes that go together." The half-demoness was expecting the aquatic boy to shut up and surrender with the threat she had just given. But the girl was just met with those empathetic amethyst eyes that could somehow strip her of all her guards. The Atlantean, it seems, did not even listen to her threats since he was busily thinking of something else.

"I love it when you laugh and your smile is so beautiful. You should start reaching in that ethereal beauty of yours." If the goth girls face were able to turn redder than it did now, a new color spectrum had to be made. She tried to give him a glare but the effectiveness was interfered with her crimsoned face.

"I said stop staying stupid and perverted things or else I'll smack you!" her voice sounded more abash than threatening.

"Hahahahaha. Alright, I'll stop as long as you do something for me."

"Whatever. As long as I don't have to be your personal servant or anything…"

"Oh, you don't have to worry. I have something better in mind." The goth girl started to be troubled with what the prince had in mind.

"What is it..?"

"I want you… to place more trust in me." the Atlantean grinned.

"What???" the goth girl began to wonder if the seaweed the prince ate had some kind of poison.

"You heard me. I'm asking you to trust me."

"Why?"

"Because… I want you to trust me more…"

"I think we should get the first aid kit and detox you. You're acting like a child and saying weird things." The boy frowned at the goth girl's reply.

"I'm not joking nor am I being disillusioned by any type of poison. What I'm asking right now is very serious. I want you to be able to trust me. And I'm hoping that if I gain enough trust from you, I'd have a place there in your heart to make you smile." The boy blushed as he said this. "I want you to be happy. Because you deserve to be happy." the Atlantean meant every word. The half-demoness did not know how to react to what the prince had just said. His words sounded so convincing that the doubts she had with herself seems to disappear. _Do I really deserve to be happy…? Why is he asking such a weird request? I… can I finally open my heart again..?_

"_**Don't be foolish child!"**_

"Ahhh!" Raven screamed and held her head as the voice of her father screamed in her head like the screeching from a chalkboard.

"_**Do you honestly believe you desire such things? What can happiness give you? It will just make you lose control of your powers. But then again, you never had control over your powers in the first place. Wahahahaha!"**_

"Shut up!!" rage started to flow in the girl and her powers started to react. Her black aura began to envelope stones on the ground and slowly levitated them. The prince of the deep was confused with all that was happening.

"Raven!? What's the matter??"

"_**See child? You can't even stop yourself from floating rocks. Truly pathetic."**_

"I said shut up!!!!" the floating stones started to spin around and the area around the girl began to crack.

"_**If you would only embrace your demon heritage, you wouldn't have to struggle like a lowly worm. I feel hurt seeing you like this my daughter." **_The half-demoness' head began to hurt like when she was in nothingness.

"Gahh!!! You don't care crap about me!!!" the bonfire's flame was no longer red. A hideous black began tainting its color. The stones began to spontaneously combust.

"Raven!!!" the boy tried to come close to the poor half-demoness but he was only pushed back by her powers. "Aahh!!"

"Don't… come…. near me…" the girl's knees started to fail her. Her whole body was shaking. More stones started to explode.

"_**That's right my dear. Don't let that malodorous fish-man come near you. He can do nothing to help you."**_

"Shut up! Get out of my head!" she could now feel her insides burning.

"Raven!!" the Atlantean was planning to try to get near the goth girl when the transmitter began to ring. "Shit! Of all the times to call!" the prince decided to answer the call and ask for back up. Meanwhile, the demon lord continued with the father-daughter talk.

"_**Why can't you be just a good girl and follow your daddy's footsteps?"**_

"I have no father…" the girl no longer had enough strength to scream. Her insides were burning and her head felt like it was going to come off. She wished it would just come off. "You're supposed to be dead… we destroyed you…"

"_**I really do feel offended with that thought of yours. I cannot die, my dear. Even if you blow me up like what you're doing to those stones. My name is eternal in the book of fates. And the time is nearing once more for my awakening.."**_

"Get out of my head…. Please… just… leave me alone…." Tears were streaming down the goth girl's eyes as she writhed in pain on the ground.

"_**Ah, but I can never leave you alone my daughter. We are forever bonded. My blood flows in your veins and you are much a part of me than I am part of you. Now, let me help you my dear… let me show you how to control." **_With those words, the pain of the young goth girl instantly. And her powers were now under control. _How did..? _the girl looked at her hands and saw the familiar red tattoos of the demon.

"Robin! Wait!! I still need to ask you about!! Robin? Robin??" the Atlantean cursed. He wasn't given a chance to tell the leader what was happening to Raven because the transmission cut loose. _I guess I have to do this on my own then!! _The Atlantean turned his attention back to the half-demoness, "Raven!! Are you— Huh..?" the boy was shocked to see that there were no more black auras, no more floating and exploding rocks and the young girl was no longer screaming in pain. It was like nothing happened. But the broken walls and floor surrounding the girl was said otherwise. The boy looked at the bonfire. Tiny slivers of black began to disappear and the flame went back to its original color. _What the hell happened just now?_

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_this chap was supposed to be waaayyy longer but since i can't decide... oh yeah... for those who want to know why i can't finish this story: this is because i'm not sure if i should cut this thing short and just make a sequel or if i should just put in the other parts in here as well... but the other parts i'm going to put if i make this long will be slightly darker and the ending i've originally planned can't be used.. and i really like the ending i have in mind too... i can't decide!!! what do you guys think i should do? should i just make a sequel...? (oh, the sequel/the other parts will concentrate on the "awakening" of Trigon) or should i just stuff everything in this story..?? booo-hoo.. i'm so lost...._


	8. Flashback: It's Not Crazy, It's Trust

_A/N: before anything else. i would like to make it clear that i have never read any of the comics of teen titan or aqualad. i just read some infos about the heroes' lives in the net (wikipedia...hehe..) and i just use these infos and create a story of my own on how things happen. so if aquagirl was supposed to be dead way before Aquaman and Aqualad had a death fight, i'm sorry. i didn't know... and i'm not gonna say any of the character's real names here since i totally respect Glen Murakami's thought of not fully exposing the character's alter ego in teen titans animated. that's all... you guys can read now...=D  
Disclaimer: I don't own teen titans_

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Part Seven: Flashback: It's Not Crazy, It's Trust

Aqualad was confused. He was dumbfounded. But most of all. He was worried. He did not understand what had just happened to Raven and the 10 meter radius of broken earth that surrounded her.

_Everything was just fine a while ago._ The boy thought._ Did Raven lose control? Is there something she isn't telling me? _The boy tried to move closer to the half-demoness. Just when he was about to reach out to her shoulder…

"Don't touch me." The girl's voice sounded cold. The prince could not see the girl's face since she was facing back, but the sound of her voice made a clear picture of what cold expression she was holding.

"What do you mean? Raven—"

"I think I've said it clear. I said. DON'T TOUCH ME." The Atlantean's concern and confusion was now tainted with anger.

"What the hell, Raven! I'm just worried about you! What happened just now was--"

"Only a momentary loss of control. You don't have to worry. It won't happen again." He didn't believe her.

"I don't think making a crater that size is just a momentary loss of control. You were screaming. You were in pain. You—"

"Shut up! I don't need your theories. I don't need your sermons…" the goth girl turned her around to face the Atlantean. Her face was filled with anger. "I don't need your help!" rocks began to fly around and a nearby wall exploded.

The levitating rocks and the broken wall didn't scare the Atlantean. He was more scared at the girl he was facing. No, it wasn't the horrific glowing black aura emanating from her that frightened him. It was the distant gaze the girl gave him. It seemed as if the girl that he was talking to a while ago simply vanished. And what was left of her was this solitary empty vessel filled with hate and sorrow. The boy frowned. He wanted to push on and force her to tell him what was wrong, but he couldn't,

"If you don't trust that I can't control my powers, then it's better if you stay away from me." The goth girl walked past the prince, as if she wasn't talking to anyone there. The statement and action from the girl reignited the Atlantean's anger. The boy clenched his fist.

"I trust you Raven… but…" the boy turned and grabbed her arm. "But what I don't understand is why _you _can't trust me!" his voice was a mix of rage and desperation.

"Let go of me! This isn't some kind of game!" the goth girl tried to break away from the Atlantean's grip.

"Who ever said this was a game? All I'm asking is for you to trust me!"

"Let go!" the girl began yanking harder. "I said let go!"

"No!"

"Stop forcing me!" Raven suddenly lashed out her powers at the boy. She was shocked what she let out. Her usual dark aura had… color. A hideous combination of aubergine and black surrounded the prince of deep. This altered power of hers began to lift up the boy and an invisible presence started attacking him.

Acid-like lacerations started to cover his body. Each slit burned and stung with unspeakable pain. The boy tried to scream but this only made the tainted black shroud enter in his mouth to choke him. The boy lay suspended in the air, slowly being killed by the aubergine and black aura.

The half-demoness was terrified with the malevolent smog she was letting out of her eyes, mouth, and hands. The power coming out from her was too overwhelming.

She couldn't control it.

_No… _

The boy right in front of her will die...

_No..!_

And she'll be the one that killed him…

"_**Isn't this power beautiful?" **_the familiar demonic voice started echoing in her head.

_Why are you doing thjs! _The goth girl screamed in her head as tears were starting to form.

"_**Why… I'm not doing anything."**_

"_But what you did earlier was—"_

"_**I just momentarily inhibited your powers earlier. But this.." **_the demon chortled. _**"This is all you, my dear. This type of power, only you can do. I am actually quite pleased with this." **_She could feel the schadenfreudean satisfaction the demon was having.

"_You're lying…" _her voice was weak.

"_**Now, who is lying here?" **_the demon smirked. _**"False accusations and murder all in one day! You make me proud. Now, let's watch this worthless fish die."**_

Aqualad was starting to lose consciousness. He couldn't breathe and his whole body was in pain. He was really going to die.

Raven, with her all her strength, forced her powers to stop. But before the sinister aura disappeared, it hurled the Atlantean and the boy was sent flying all the way to the other side of the room. He crashed to the upper wall and made his own crater that was a couple of feet deep. Gravity wasn't any kinder to him, when he fell down on the hard floor.

The Atlantean slowly got up. His whole body was throbbing. New wounds occupied the different parts of the prince. His head had the pleasure of getting the biggest cut. Drops of crimson fell on the floor. The boy could also somehow feel that some of his ribs weren't in the right place. He teetered his way to a wall and laid his back to add support.

The half-demoness froze for a moment at the wounded prince. She couldn't think straight. _What did I do? I… _she shook her head, trying to stop her emotions from taking over her. _Think practically Raven… _the girl began collecting her thoughts. _First things first… he needs medical attention. _She cautiously walked towards the Atlantean, trying to control her emotions as she came nearer and nearer.

Aqualad's fun day just turned sad… and not to mention bloody. He was straining himself just trying to stand. He saw the half-demoness coming. At first he flinched and fear of a final blow came to his mind. But when looked closer, he saw that her eyes were no longer distant. They were now filled with regret. _Thank goodness… she's back..._

"Aqualad…" her monotonous tone was frail. The boy tried to focus, his eyes were now slowly failing. He saw that the goth girl was near enough to hear him speak. He gave her a weak smile.

"Don't… worry… won't tell… Bee… self-defense…. Right..?" the boy then fell to the ground after saying this.

"_Say, Aqualad… why do you always have that awful frown on your face…"_

_That voice…_

"_Y'know, if you keep on doing that you're gonna get wrinkles."_

_It's her…_

"_Hey! Are you listening to me!"_

_Hahaha… I am... I am…_

"_Aqualad… did you know that if you pray in Latin, the spirits will understand you more? So if you want, we can study it together! We can pray to the poor dead fishies..!"_

_You only made that up… but I learned it anyway…_

"_Aqualad…"_

_Hm? What is it?_

"_Aqualad... it hurts.."_

_What! …Get out from the water! It's a trap!_

"_AHHHHH!"_

_No!_

"_Aqualad… I'm sorry.."_

_No! Don't close your eyes! Everything will be alright! Just stay awake!_

"…_Goodbye…"_

Aqualad woke up and found himself blinded by a bright light. He moved his arm to help cover his eyes.

"Is this what they tunnel of light?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but no." the light disappeared and was replaced by Raven's sweating face.

"Raven?" the boy slowly sat up, trying to be careful not to move his broken... ribs? The Atlantean was surprised to feel that he wasn't feeling much pain. He touched his ribs, trying to feel them. They were perfectly fine… nothing seemed to be broken or misplaced. _I could've sworn my ribs were.."_

"Lie down. I'm not finished healing you." The girl was panting.

_So that's why…_ the prince now knew why his ribs were fine and his bruises were not dripping all over the floor anymore.

"I said lie down." The goth girl gently pushed the boy down. The Atlantean saw Raven's tired eyes.

"You don't—"

"Shut up. I'm just doing this coz' I want to." Her voice was indifferent but her eyes showed guilt. The boy didn't say anymore.

Raven began healing the Atlantean once more. The room was filled with an eerie silence. The celestial lights on the ceiling were slowly fading. The poor worms got caught in the destruction and only few of them survived. The boy frowned and he began hearing the familiar voice.

"_Y'know, if you keep on doing that you're gonna get wrinkles."_

_Yeah… yeah… but does it really matter..? You're not here anymore to see me get wrinkly anyway… _the prince felt his chest ache. He closed his eyes trying to suppress the new pain that was filling inside him. Raven's empath powers took notice of this.

"What's the matter..?" she tried to make her voice uncaring.

"Nothing… just remembering something about wrinkles…" the boy flatly answered.

"Wrinkles..? I don't believe you... you have an air of melancholy around you."

"You know… peeking into other people's feelings really is rude." The girl felt offended… but then again.. He was right…

"Sorry…." The Atlantean opened his eyes to look at the pouting girl. He sighed.

"No… I'm sorry… I was just remembering a past memory about a friend.." the girl frowned… she felt like she didn't deserve the prince's apology.

"You didn't need to say that… I don't deserve your apology.." the girl stopped healing and bit her lower lip. "I almost killed you..."

What the girl said was true. And any sane person that's not a saint would immediately start cursing and hitting this person who tried to kill them. Aqualad was definitely not a saint. And cursing and revenge could make him feel better. After all, he was scared and mad as hell with what happened. But he couldn't do that to this girl, when a certain nostalgic argument played in his mind.

"_Going mad for revenge really isn't good for you. I'm sure Aquaman didn't mean what he said and did."_

"_How would you know that!"_

"_I don't…"_

"_Then why in the hell are you saying things like this! Why are you defending him!"_

"_Because I trust him."_

"_What…?"_

"_Because I trust him. The same way I trust you."_

"_You trust him! How can you say that after he tried to kill me!"_

"_Betrayal is part of life. We trust and get hurt, Aqualad. But that doesn't mean we should lose our trust on them."_

"_You're crazy."_

"_No. I have faith. And the moment you lose faith on the people you care about, you not only start losing the trust you've built together, but also start losing a part of yourself.. And when you lose that part of yourself, you're no longer living…"_

"…"

"_Trust is what connects people's hearts, Aqualad... now stop moping and wipe that frown off your face! You're seriously gonna get wrinkles!"_

"_Ow! Ow! Alright already Aquagirl! Just stop stretching my face!"_

"_No way! I see a wrinkle forming there under your eyes!"_

_Trust, huh… _the Atlantean looked at the goth girl. She held a downcast look and was frowning.

"You're right Raven… you don't deserve an apology for what you did to me… that's pretty obvious. But," the prince gave her a tender smile. "You do deserve one when I forced you to trust me. Trust isn't freely given by just one person. It's formed by both parties. I trust you Raven… I trust you so much that I'd bet my life that you won't try to kill me again.." the last sentence he gave was supposed to be a half-joke but this only made the girl's guilt grow.

Raven looked away.

"Sorry… bad joke… but I really mean it when I said I trust you." The boy held the girl's chin and made her look at him. "I want you to trust me too… but this time, I won't force you. I want you to be the one to open your heart to me." His eyes were sincere and adamant. Fear and confusion flowed in the half-demoness head.

"How can you be so blasé? I almost killed you!" the boy just smiled.

"I'm crazy that's why… oh, that and because a girl I once knew and loved told me to keep on trusting." He removed his fingers from the girls chin and moved them to the sides of her mouth. And pushed his fingers and forced the girl do a silly smile. "Now stop frowning and smile. You're gonna get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that." The boy grinned. Raven didn't fully understand what he just said but she couldn't help but smile when she saw the childish grin on the prince's face.

"See! You look beautiful when you smile! Now, since we're gonna develop a trusting relationship, how about you tell me your favorite color?"

"Not a chance. I still didn't say anything about trusting you already.."

"Wha? But— Unbelieveable…" The boy pouted and the young girl couldn't help but smirk.

Raven was still unsure to what she should do. Her father was apparently not dead and her powers are starting to morph and lose control. But… even for just this moment. Just looking at the Atlantean's silly grin and hearing his unbelievable trust logic….She felt somehow free.

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_i reaalllyyy have no idea where this thing is going anymore... everytime i have the sequence in my head, a different things comes out when i type...but don't you think this chap makes a nice hanging ending? it's got a moral and stuff! how bout if i make this the ending instead? hmm..... can you guys throw me a bone here?_


	9. Stupid Conversations

_A/N: sorry haven't updated for a while... my heads been aching for a full straight week now... and i had a hard time writing... so most probably this cahpter will be very weird. and maybe useless.... not sure when i'll be able to update again... it all depends on this throbbing head of mine...  
Disclaimer: Teen Titans is owned by their own owners...not me..._

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Part 9: Stupid Conversations: Quickly Changing Scenes

"No! Help! This is abuse!"

"Oh, just shut up and eat already."

Raven moved the cooked fish towards the Atlantean. Its eyes were pure white. The life it once had has disappeared along with the smoke of the fire. Aqualad's eyes were also starting to turn white. In fact, he was somewhere in between passing out and barfing. He had to think of something quick before the goth girl decides to just shove the whole fish in his mouth.

"You can't expect me to become a cannibal!" the girl merely raised a brow at him.

"You're not going to be a cannibal. If you feel more like a fish than human then, I'll give you my arm." The Atlantean stared at her in horror. "I was just kidding… Now, c'mon. The fish is starting to get cold."

"No! I thought you didn't want to kill me!" the girl flinched, but she quickly covered her emotions by giving the Atlantean her trademark glare.

"How can feeding you a delicious meal, kill you!" although she was hiding her hurt, her eyes still revealed the truth to the boy. The guilt was now transferred to the prince of the deep. And he didn't like the feeling…

"Fine…." The boy cautiously reached for the fish, as if he was about to hold a venomous snake. When he got the fish, he started observing it. The fish-- although he didn't want to admit—smelled delicious. But the eyes… those horrible white eyes that just make him want to cry, he couldn't imagine himself eating the fish.

Raven was looking at the boy… it seemed like there was no hope. She was very well tempted to shove the fish in his mouth, but she couldn't do that. She was actually having… fun. She didn't want to admit that though, since she has to keep her emotions under control. In truth, she was also having the same issue of acknowledgement the prince was having with his meal. _He's looks so stupid right now.. He looks like he's about to eat something disgusting. _The goth girl unconsciously smiled. _His whole body is shaking. The prince of the deep is shaking because of cooked fish. The others would've loved to see this..! _

"I can't do it!" the boy screamed.

"You have no choice. The sea weed you got already turned bad and you can't go get new ones in your current condition." Tears were forming in the prince's eyes like a little child.

"How is it possible that the seaweed turned bad while the fish didn't..?" he was now pouting. Raven shrugged. She also doesn't know why the fish seemed to be okay while the seaweed wasn't. Must be one of those mysteries of life…

"Just eat already."

"I'm gonna start frothing in the mouth..."

"No you're not. Now eat already!" the boy balked for a few times before he bit on the fish. His eyes widened at the flavor passing through his taste buds. But he still didn't want to admit that the fish tasted good.

The goth girl let out a sigh and closed her eyes. _Finally.. I really didn't want to force him to eat it.. But he needs to regain his energy. He still hasn't told me why Robin called… _the girl opened her eyes.

"Hey Aqua--! What the!" the goth girl was shocked to see that the Atlantean was indeed frothing in the mouth… he looked like he was dead. The girl didn't know what to do so she just took the thermos they had and splashed hot water at the frothing boy. Well… what she did wasn't first aid but, it worked…

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Aqualad screamed at the scorching pain on his face. And that scream was a relief to Raven.

"Ah.. Good. You're still alive." It took several minutes for the girl to explain what had happened before she healed the burn marks on the Atlantean's face.

"Raven, next time you decide to help someone. Make sure you don't throw steaming hot water on their face…" the boy's face was red and little blisters were starting to form.

"I'll try to remember that… But, I can't believe you _did _start frothing in the mouth." The goth girl said this with annoyance, but she was only trying to stop herself from laughing at the prince's face. Although he was holding one of his regal composure while talking to her, his red face just didn't quite fit.

"Yeah… yeah…" it was obvious that the topic on the frothing was now closed… and the reason for why the prince of deep was frothing… it could be because his body rejected the fish because of his strong principles... But then again... let's leave the reason to other people's imagination.

"Now let me just get the ointment in the first aid kit." The boy's mouth dropped agape with the sudden realization…

"We have a first aid kit! You could've used something there instead of splashing hot water on my face!"

"I didn't know what to use there. And I... kinda panicked…" the girl started rummaging through the bag.

"Hahaha… you panicked... Not the kind of thing one would expect from you…"

"Sorry…" the goth girl went back to the Atlantean, the ointment in hand. She started spreading the salve on the boy's face.

"Ow... Be more gentle..." the boy flinched at the burning sting.

"This would be a whole lot easier if you'd just let me use my powers…" the girl scowled.

"I told you that I don't want you to."

"You're just probably…" the girl stopped and looked down.

"I just probably what?"

"Nothing. It's probably best anyway." The half-demoness quickly resumes her task.

"What is it Raven?" the Atlantean felt he did something stupid again, seeing that sad look on the girl's eyes.

"Nothing… you're just probably scared that my powers will go berserk again…" the boy felt guilt.

"That's not true…" he placed his hands on the girl's cheek. "Didn't I tell you that I don't want you to start carrying other people's pain?" the girl bit her lower lip and looked away.

"… Sorry… the truth is that I'm the one that's afraid to use my powers…" the goth girl could fill her emotions trying to crawl out again. Be bit her lip harder, trying to push them back. The boy looked at her with concern.

"You don't have to worry." The boy used both of his hands and held the girl's face. "If anything bad is going to happen again, I'll help you." He gave her a smile. Raven felt her emotions go back in control.

"How can you keep on smiling like an idiot?"

"I'll tell you, if you tell me something first."

"What?"

"What's your favorite color?" the girls stared at the boy in annoyed disbelief.

"I'm not that interested to know why you're an idiot." She got up and began to walk away.

"Wait!" the boy grabbed her hand. "Let's change the question. Hehehe. No color questions. I promise."

"Alright." The girl sat down once more.

"Okay… why is your power getting out of control?" the joking atmosphere the boy had changed. His face was now dead serious. The goth girl didn't want to answer that question, but when she looked at the boy's eyes she couldn't help but tell him.

"Well… It's… my father…"

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_tell me if there are typos and errors here... i didn't have time to check and edit..i have to rest now..._


	10. Giant Squids, Black Auras, And Kisses

_A/N: hey there! i took some headache pills (even though i dnt like using meds unless necessary) and now i got to do a new chap really quick. there's a chance that i'll update the next chap later this day too (my time zone.) thanks for the nice get well soon comment aquaray8.. it inspired me to write fast.. and aquaven11's unending support/comment just always makes my day..=D but i don't know if trident really has a trident... o.O_

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Part 9: Giant Squids, Black Auras, And Kisses: Aqualad Must Decide

Raven told Aqualad about the story of Trigon the terrible, the other-dimension demon who wreaked havoc and destruction. She told him about how her mother was tricked by the demon to go to bed with him. She told him about her demon heritage. She told him about the pacifist monks of Azar who took her mother in. she told him how she was taught by Azar, herself taught her how to control her emotions and how to become an empath. She told him everything she knew about how her powers are suppose to work. She even told him the original reason as to why she went here to Earth. She told him how her father had contacted her when her powers got out of control… She wanted to tell him everything but she couldn't bring herself to tell him about "The Prophesy" and how she almost brought Earth to its destruction…

"That's all I can tell you…" she looked away. It took the Atlantean a couple of minutes to digest what he just heard. All he wanted to know why she couldn't control her powers. He wasn't expecting to hear her whole life story.

"Wow…."

"Not exactly your typical story, eh?" the girl gave a weak smile and laugh.

"Well… that's to be expected since we're not exactly typical people.."

"Yeah.. But everyone's lives weren't made just to lead to destruction…!" Raven covered her mouth. A Freudian slip… the boy looked at her questioningly.

"What do you mean by that? Is there something else I should know..?" the girl looked away…

"Well…. The thing is… I was born so that I could… become a gate…" she looked at the Atlantean before continuing. "It was prophesized that I'd become the gateway for my father to cross this world and destroy it…"

"When!" the boy stood up.

"You don't have to worry about it! It's… already over…" the both girl tugged him to sit back down.

"What?"

"The prophesy was fulfilled but Robin and the others were able to stop him.. so.. you don't need to worry.." the boy sat down and faced the half-demoness.

"How?" his eyes were stern. "How did the world almost end without me knowing?" the goth girl didn't like the look in his eyes… she turned away once more.

"I don't know… my memory of that time is foggy…. I only know that Robin and the others helped me… especially Robin…" the girl gave out an appreciative smile as she remembered how the Boy Wonder helped her when she lost all her memory and became a young Raven. The Atlantean let out a pained sigh.

"Can't believe that the world almost ended… but if you guys did defeat your dad… then how-?" the girl's smile faded and a frown replaced it.

"I don't know… he said that he's much a part of me as I am to him…" the girl clenched her fist. She didn't like the thought. Just when she had the notion of being free from her father's grasp for the past few months… he comes back like cancer. The boy placed his hands on her shoulder.

"Well… I guess we have to find out how to stop your father…" with that, he decided. "I guess I'll be going." The boy stood up and started stretching.

"What do you mean you'll be going? And why are you stretching?"

"Robin called earlier… he said that Trident is in the area right now… so I'll just go and say "hi" to him before I ask Bee to pick us up."

"What?" the goth girl stood up. "What do you mean _you? _I'm coming along!" to boy frowned.

"You can't. You said it yourself that you're afraid that your powers might go crazy again.." the girl bit her lower lip.

"This is unfair!"

"You can look it that way.. or.. you can say that you trust me in getting the work done." The goth girl glared at him. The Atlantean gave her a smile,"You still don't trust me..?" the girl pouted, turned around, walked a few feet away from the boy, and sat.

"Go ahead and kill yourself, for all I care!" the boy smiled.

"Thanks Raven…" the boy took out the transmitter and began looking for Trident.

The cavern was huge and it took the Atlantean a couple of hours until he was able to locate Trident. On the way, the story that Raven told him played on his head. _The story of a child born to be a key/gate for great evil to come… a pacifistic cult… a child hated and unwanted by many… that story sounds oddly the same and somewhat familiar… heh… we really do have a lot in common. _The prince was finally able to findthe villain's base_. _The place looked strangely the same, the last time they met the fish man. There were numerous trident look alikes and they were moving some crates onto a submarine at the aqueduct opening.

"Can't this guy think of anything original for once?" the Atlantean complained. "I better make this quick. I promised Raven." The boy started doing some guestures with his hands and the water surrounding the submarine started to whirl around. The whirling water gulped the submarine… and spat it out to the ground. The Trident copies started running around like confused ants. The boy started to snicker then the real Trident came out.

"What's all this ruckus!" the villain scanned the area and saw the disheveled submarine. "What happened to my submarine!" the Atlantean made a big wave and swept half of the area before he made his majestic entrance. The ranks of the trident clones were instantly cut by half. The real Trident was fuming mad.

"Hey there!" the boy waved at the fish man.

"You!" the villain pointed his spear at the Atlantean and scowled. "I see you're still irritating as ever. Wait…. Why does your face look like that..?" The boy didn't comment on his still healing face but merely smiled.

"And you… you're smell is still as bad as your face." Trident didn't like that comment much. It hurt his feelings. He's always been mad at the fact that he and Aqualad are supposed to be somewhat the same since their both humanoid amphibians. But Trident couldn't understand why the prince of the deep is so hot while he, on the other hand…. Is not.

"Attack him!" the clones started to attack. The Atlantean gracefully evaded each and every attack and countered by hitting them with a strong stream of water from the aqueduct.

"Tch. This is too easy! Looks like your clones are getting a little bit soft!" the villain grinned evilly.

"Yes… they are… that's because they're not clones.."

"What!"

"They used to be humans…I injected some of my DNA into them." Hearing this made the boy lose his focus and the clone tridents were able to pin him down.

"Rarrgh!" the prince tried to break free but couldn't. "Shit… Raven's gonna be so mad at me…" Trident came closer to the Atlantean and kicked him. "Agh!"

"I was lying when I told you they were humans... why would I let any of those inferior beings get my wonderful powers! I just had to…. Change my clones a little bit so that last times incident won't ever happen again.." the Atlantean glared at him. Trident scowled and thought, _It's no fair! Even with all those burn marks on his face, he still looks better than me! _Yes…Trident has other issues aside from that big ego of his. Trident raised his er… trident, ready to do the finishing blow on the prince of the deep. Just when he was about to swing, the trident clones holding the Atlantean got hit by flying crates.

"What the!" both Aqualad and Trident said. They traced the direction of the flying crates and saw more of them surrounding the half-demoness. "You!" yes… they also said that at the same time.

"Can you please not speak in unison? It's weird…. And annoying.." The goth girl deadpanned as she sent the other crates flying to the remaining trident clones. The Atlantean got to his feet and went to the goth girl.

"What are you doing here! I told you to wait for me at the camp!" the girl raised her brow.

"Why yes… I saved your life. You're welcome…" the boy pouted and grabbed the goth girls hand.

"You're going back to camp!" the girl swiped her hand off the prince's grip and glared at him. "Don't you give me that look young missy!" The two started arguing and forgot about Trident's existence. This didn't make the villain happy.

"You dare ignore me! I shall unleash my beast at you and you will know fear!" Trident slammed his trident on the ground and pressed a secret button on it.

The two were still arguing when suddenly, something began to emerge from the water hole. Out from the water, giant tentacles broke out! Trident was laughing like mad.

"WAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HA! Now both of you will fear me!" he expected the two to gasp in horror and run for their lives. Or maybe do little curses at the villain and gallantly try to slay the beast. But… as I have said before waaaaayyy back in chapter 2: strange things have been happening. So one must expect a strange reaction from the two.

"A Kraken?" the goth girl's voice was fairly annoyed. "Ooohhhh… like I haven't seen that before.."

"Yeah… Fought one of those one time at Brother Bloods base… so, unoriginal.." Trident's jaw dropped.

"What's up with you people and making giant squids look bad? Almost in every movie I see it's always a giant kraken..! Can't you use something else like killer whales?"

"Or penguins!" the goth girl stared at the Atlantean. "What? Penguins can be scary, too?" before Raven could retort, the giant squid slammed its tentacles to the ground. It was getting bored waiting for its master's command. And it could somehow feel that it was being made fun of. The ground shook and the two lost their balance. Trident stopped jaw dropping and saw that the two Titans were in trouble.

"Wahahahahahahahahahahaha! You dare make fun of my pet! You shall suffer for that! Kraken!" the villain commanded and the giant followed. It grabbed the two Titans and began dragging them underwater. It would be fine for the Atlantean since he's better underwater but for Raven…

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" the goth girl was able to levitate scrap metals from the broken submarine and lunged them at the tentacle holding her. The giant let out an ugly pained scream and let go of the goth girl. She was able to land safely on the ground. The girl concentrated once more. "Azarath, Metrion-"

"Raven! Behind you!" the Atlantean's warning was too late and Trident sent the girl flying. The boy was now submerged underwater and was being rapidly taken out of the aqueduct. In just a few minutes, the prince came face to face with the giant squid.

"I have no time for you!" he tried to communicate with the squid but it did not heed his wishes and started squeezing the Atlantean.

Back in the cavern, Raven was recovering from the blow she received from the villain. When she got her composure back she realized that majority of the Trident clones were now conscious. They began surrounding the goth girl. The young girl cursed.

"Azarath.. Met—"the first clone attacked. She quickly avoided it but the other clones started to attack as well. She couldn't evade all of them and she got hit back and forth for a couple of times. She began countering by letting out powerful bursts of her dark energy. She was able to chant and levitate three clones and used them as a bowling ball at the incoming clones. Strike! And the clones all fell down after a while. The goth girl started panting heavily while searching for any more enemies. There seemed to be none. She quickly turned her attention to the Aqueduct where the prince got pulled into.

"Aqualad!" unknown to the girl, Trident was hiding somewhere, waiting for a chance to attack. When he saw that the goth girl was putting all her attention to the pool of water he swiftly attacked. That's the second time he sneaked attack the girl.

Raven was once again on the ground. And she was very pissed. Her concern for the Atlantean and her hatred for the fish villain merged. Trident was coming up to the girl ready to attack once more. The villain was shocked when he was pushed back by a dark force of aubergine and black.

The villain was then scared shitless when the half-demoness form started to change. Her eyes became sharper and it became a mix of red and dark purple, she grew larger and her cape seemed to have merged with her body. Black and aubergine root-like tendrils started to crawl from the edge of the cape and it began covering the whole room. If you've seen the episode where Raven almost ate Dr. Light in Nevermore, this is what she looked like, only 500x scarier.

"Aaaahhh!" Trident was crawling away from the tendrils that were slowly nearing him. "Noo! Mommy!"

As this horror scene was happening, Aqualad had just finished punishing the Kraken. Don't worry kids, the giant squid is still alive. It's just sleeping right now… the boy was pleased with his work (even though he was badly injured again) and turned to the entrance of the aqueduct.

"What the?" the prince saw the familiar aubergine/black energy emanating from the entrance. "Raven!" without thinking twice, the boy rushed to where the half-demoness was.

"Stay away from me! You! You! Monster!" Trident was feebly poking—I mean fighting back the evil aura coming near him.

"_Whatsss thisss? Monssssterrr yoouuu sssaaayyy..?" _the voice that came out from the goth girl was eerie and slithered like a snake.

"Aaaaahhhhh!" The fish villain squeeled. The goth girl grabbed the villain's neck using the black aura shaped like a hand with claws.

"_Whhooo aarree yooouuuu toooo ssssaayyy…. Moonssssteerrrr?" _the girl pulled him closer so that they'd meet eye to eye. "_Weeee aaarrrreeee a beetteerrrr beeeeiiiinnnnggg tthhhhaaaannn yoooouuuuu…"_

"Please let go of me Raven!" the villain pleaded. The goth girl gave out a bizarre chortle.

"_Rrrrraaaavveeeeennnn yyooooouuu saaaayyy? Weeee arrreeee nnooooottt… Rrrraaaavveeeennnn iiissss oouurrrrr crrrreeeeaaaattoooorrrr…. Yeessssss…." _Trident didn't quite understand what the girl was talking about… maybe it was because air wasn't getting through his strangled throat. The being that claimed not to be Raven raised the villain higher and planned to throw him when the prince of the deep arrived. He was horrified at the place that was now completely covered with the ghastly aura and he almost lost his breath when he saw the transformed Raven.

"Raven!" the Raven being turned to the Atlantean. It grinned evilly and dropped the fish villain to the ground.

"_Aaaahhh…. Thheee booooyyyyy…. Foooolliiisshhhh boooyy…" _the voice that came out started to vary. It was like different people were talking in a disgusting and eerie voice. It started to come closer to the Atlantean.

"Raven? Is that you?" the boy found himself slowly retreating.

"_Raaavvveeeennnnnn….Raaavvveeeennnn….shhhheeeeeesssssss nnnooootttt heeeeeeerrreeeeee…."_

"What the hell are you talking abou—" the boy was interrupted as dark claw like hands started to attack. He barely escaped them. The boy looked at the Raven entity. _What in the hell happened while I was gone! _The claws came back and the boy started evading once more. The Raven entity started to let out an ugly cackle. It made the boy's stomach churn. He felt that the Raven he was facing wasn't her.

"Where are you Raven! Answer me!" the entity laughed once more and lunged at the Atlantean. The boy was able to do a reversal with the entity's tackle and manage to pin it/her to the ground. "Answer me Raven! dammit! If you don't, I'll kiss you! Raaaghh!"

The boy was sent flying by the dark aura. He slowly stood up and came up with a strange idea. He didn't know what divine providence made him say that he'll kiss her but… he saw it. It was just for a split second, but he saw the original Raven's face and eyes return. And her face showed a mixture of surprise and… _Was it me or did I just saw the real Raven's face showing disgust at the idea of me kissing her? I don't think this idea of mine will make her happy… but then again if I don't do anything, I'll get killed… hmm… go through with this plan and face Raven's wrath later or just let things slide and I get killed? *sigh* both choices spell doom and death… I shouldn't have gotten up this morning… _

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_decisions...decisions... hmm... i wonder if the episode nevermore was right...? *sigh* truth be told... i only got to watch only a few episodes of teen titans animated.._


	11. Beach Break

_A/N: okay... i know that i said that this chap was supposed to be up waaayyyyy before but i left home earlier than expected... and when school started, the professors didn't give us any break time to do anything not "academic..." there are alot of parts that i couldn't put here since i'm too busy now... so i'm not sure when i can get back to this... il'' try to edit this when i have time...sorry for making you guys wait... ^^" i think i'm gonna die early with all the work needed to be done..._

_ sigh..._

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Part 10: Beach Break: Serious. Happy. Fun. (New Found Fear of Menos and Beast Boy)

The boy decided and he readied himself. The Raven entity saw the glint in the boy's eyes and had an idea of what he was planning. The entity smiled and gathered up its energy.

Silence.

Aqualad began running toward Raven. The entity launched hundreds of claws and the boy managed to dodge most of them. He was starting to lose a lot of blood already but he was adamant and he kept going. The entity started to get worried and lashed out millions of needles at the boy. He couldn't evade those but he kept on running forward. The Atlantean's suit was torn apart and his blue colored suit was replaced by crimson red. But the boy's persistence paid off and with whatever energy he had left, h tackled Raven down and kissed her on the lips.

When the two lips touched each other, different images started to flash in their mind.

Aqualad saw a woman that looked a lot like Raven.. Only she was older and she wasn't pale. The scenes began to change quickly. He saw monks surrounding a baby with a chakra on her forehead. The baby suddenly grew and she was happily playing with the woman that looked like Raven. The child looked so happy /and content in her mother's arms. Suddenly, he saw an old woman teaching the child and that child strongly resembled the goth girl. The smile from the young Raven started to fade and the familiar emotionless look the original Raven had.

Raven on the other hand, saw a great palace that seemed to be surrounded by water. She saw what looked like to be the king and queen of the palace. The scene changed and the queen just gave birth to a baby… the father was nowhere in sight… Something was happening in the palace and the baby was taken away and thrown into the seabed to die. The scene changed once more and what used to be the baby was now a young child. The young child was being chased by a huge school of Tuna and the young boy was swimming for his life. Now, Raven saw the boy slightly grown up being accompanied by a blonde haired adult. Suddenly, the same adult that used to show much care towards the boy was attacking him. The last scene the goth girl saw was the boy crying and holding a young girl in his hands. The girl was apparently dead.

The scenes that were playing were also transmitting the feelings the people there had. And it was too much. The entire room and everything in it were engulfed in black aura.

Everything turned black for the Atlantean.

"_Aqualad…?"_

The prince of the deep felt pain coursing all throughout his body.

"_Aqualad…? You awake?"_

The boy slowly opened his eyes and the sun's rays immediately entered his pupils. The boy grunted and slowly shielded his eyes from the light.

"Too bright…."

"Aqualad? You finally awake?" the voice was… not Raven's. The Atlantean quickly tried to adjust his eyes and saw the flashy traffic light colored suit. He tilted his head a little and saw the face of the owner of the suit.

"Robin? What are you doing here?" the prince tried to sit up.

"You don't need to get up..! You' were pretty beaten up when we found you." The Atlantean sat up anyways. His head was throbbing.

"Found me?" the prince started to look around and realized that they were on a beach. They were a couple of feet away from the sea, being shaded by a coconut tree. _How did I get here? I know that Raven and I were- Raven! _The boy started to frantically look around for the half-demoness.

"Calm down Aqualad!" the boy wonder tried to hold the Atlantean down.

"Raven! Where is she!"

"You don't have to worry. She came along Bee and Cy to go pick up the others." The Atlantean felt relief hearing the young girl was fine. He lied down and closed his eyes.

"What happened in the cavern?" the boy wonder's voice was serious. Aqualad opened his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Bee and Cyborg picked up a high energy reading in the cavern… We rushed to the location only to find that the cavern completely vanished… and so did the high energy reading…"

"What!" the Atlantean quickly sat up and winced. One of his wounds opened.

"I told you to calm down! Mas!" the little boy popped out of nowhere and brought out a first aid kit. The boy wonder started sterilizing and bandaging the open wound.

"Sorry." The Atlantean apologized and looked down. _What happened..? How could a cavern as big as that suddenly disappear…? And what was that scary monster that took over Raven..? Was that her father? Wait a minute… _the Atlantean looked at the masked boy.

"What is it?" the leader of titans west asked with an arched brow.

"If the cavern completely vanished, then where did you find me and Raven?"

"Raven contacted us after an hour when we arrived at the cavern's location… she gave us the coordinates and both of you were here on the island… you were completely soaked in blood and bruises. Good thing Raven was able to heal you a little bit."

"She used her powers on me..?" the prince frowned.

"Yeah… Raven… she.." the boy wonder's expression changed. "Something bad happened in the cavern. I know it. Can you tell me what happened?" the prince thought for a moment.

"What did Raven tell you guys when you found us…?"

"Nothing much... She said that Trident was planning something big and that you two were able to stop him. But your victory resulted in the disappearance of the cavern. But… I can sense that there's something bothering her… she told me that she's fine… but I can tell that she's hiding something…" the masked boy's face turned grim. The Atlantean could only lower his head. He doesn't know if he should tell Robin about what happened. It seemed like that the young half-demoness doesn't want her friends to worry.

"I don't think I'm in the position to tell you… since I blacked out half-way through the mission so I don't really know what happened…" the Atlantean half lied.

"You don't have to tell me everything..! Just tell me what you know!" the masked boy pleaded as he grabbed the Atlantean and started shaking him.

"Argh!" the aquatic prince winced as some of his wounds started opening once again. The masked leader quickly realized and let go of the prince of the deep.

"Sorry…. I shouldn't force an injured comrade…" the masked boy started treating the prince once again while carrying a disheartened expression.

"You're really worried about her…" the Atlantean found himself saying. The masked wonder looked at the aquatic boy and sighed.

"Of course I am… she's a comrade… and most of all she's a precious friend to me…." The masked boy's words were pure, honest, and true. The Atlantean could feel how much Robin cared for Raven.

"*sigh* Alright… I'll tell you what I know.." the wonder boy's face lit up. "But, you have to tell me something first."

"Sure! Whatever it is, as long as I know, I'll tell!" the masked boy was ecstatic.

"I want you tell me everything you know about Raven's power and also… about her father, Trigon and how you guys stop the world from almost ending… I want to know everything." The masked boy was shocked.

"How… how do you know about _that_?" the Atlanean shrugged.

"Raven told me some things when we were in the cavern…. And I found the story about how the world almost ending interesting… I also found it especially irritating, since you guys didn't any of us about this.." the Atlantean gave the masked boy a glare. He was, indeed, pissed and irritated at the fact that their western comrade didn't tell them about such an important event.

"Well… You see…" the masked boy started stammering. He was still in shock that the Atlantean found out about one of the most kept secret of the Titans West.

"You don't have to tell me right now." The Atlantean stopped glaring and gave the masked boy a smile. "And you don't have to worry. I sort of understand why you guys didn't tell us anything. And if you don't want to tell me, that's fine too. But that means I won't tell you what happened at the cavern." The Atlantean saw that masked boy's pained look. He knew that bartering like that would hurt the boy wonder, but he needed to know everything so that he can help Raven. _The images I saw while we were in the cavern… I know that it was about Raven… but the images are foggy now… there were too many… the best thing to do know is to get as much information as possible before Trigon returns…_

"Fine…" the masked boy finally answered. "I'll need some time so that I can go collect the files on that event back at the tower… So.. "The masked boy felt guilt… After they stopped Trigons rule, he promised the goth girl that he wouldn't tell anyone about what had happened. It was a past that she wishes to completely forget and disappear. But he could sense that an impending danger would soon arise and the young girl would be once again hurt. So if, breaking his promise to the goth girl would help him stop her from getting hurt, so be it…

"That's good to hear." The two shook hands to seal the agreement. Mas suddenly pooped out again and said that the others are back.

The T-cruiser landed some meters away from where the three were. The ship opened and the first one to come out was Raven, followed by Bee and Starfire. The boy wonder quickly changed back to "leader mode" and went to greet the others.

"Hey there! How was the trip?" the masked boy tried to avoid looking at the goth girl and focused his attention on the other two girls.

"You would not believe how hard it was to put Beast Boy and Menos into the ship!" Bumblebee complained straight away.

"Yes. It was quite difficult to convince them that there weren't any toilets in the T-cruiser…" Starfire added. The masked boy raised a brow.

"What do you mean by toilets..?"

"Believe me, it would take a whole day trying to explain to you this new absurd phobia those two idiots caught." As Raven said this, familiar voices came from inside the ship.

"How many times do I have to tell you that there aren't any toilets in this uninhabited island!" It was Cyborg's voice.

"How would you know! You've never lived in an uninhabited island!" it was Beast Boy.

"Si! Si!" Menos added.

"IT WOULDN'T BE CALLED AN UNINHABITED ISLAND IF SOMEONE LIVED ON IT!" the mechanoid screamed. Various noises started to erupt and Robin could only imagine what was happening in there.

"Would you like to go inside and help your comrades?" Bumblee asked.

"Uh.. No thanks…" the masked boy quickly replied.

"I swear if you don't get off your seats I'll plasma cannon you guys out of this ship!" Cyborg threatened. Unfortunately, the threat didn't work. The others outside could hear Cyborg charging his cannon.

"Oh, geez! Don't tell me he's serious!" Robin was planning to run to the T-cruiser when he heard the charging stopped and the familiar voice of the red-head archer.

"Don't worry Cyborg! I got the quickest solution to get these two off the ship!"

Silence.

Then.

"WWWHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Beastboy in chicken form frantically came out. Menos was riding him since he couldn't run as fast without his brother. Robin, Bumblebee, Raven and Starfire watched in amazement at the two. Beastboy transformed into a dog and started running towards their leader.

"Wait! Stop! Beast—!" The two partners rammed Robin down to the ground. A muffled and pained "get off me" could be heard under the two frightened partners. But they didn't get off the boy wonder.

"Wahahaahahahahahahahahaaha! I told you that it would work!" Speedy heartily cackled as he and Cyborg went down the ship. Cyborg was trying to suppress his own laughter when he saw the pissed off boy wonder on the ground. Bumblebee and Starfire looked questioningly at the redhead archer. The mischievous archer just innocently grinned.

"What in the hell did you do to those poor boys?" Bumblebee asked.

"What do you mean by that?" the redhead feinted hurt. "You make it sound like I did something terrible. I happened to have saved them from being sonic boomed!"

"Just quit with the drama and tell me what you did." The east titan leader demanded.

"Alright. Alright." The archer raised both of his hands in defeat. "I showed them this!" he reached into his pocket and showed the others a miniature porcelain toilet. When Beastboy and Menos saw this, they ran for their lives.

"No more! SO! MUCH! CLOGGING!" Beasboy screamed. The Speedy chased after the two, still holding the mini potty. The boy wonder, on the other hand, was getting up from the ground.

"Idiots…" Raven quietly mumbled.

"What the hell happened to those two?" the masked boy asked as he dusted off some sand on his suit.

"Well… those two's location for the training was in the city. One of their tasks was to clean each and every public toilets in the city." Cyborg explained.

"What's so bad about that?"

"Believe me Robin. There are some unspoken horrors that happen when you try to clean toilets. You never noticed this coz' you never had toilet cleaning duty." The masked boy felt a chill run his back. With that, the discussion about Beastboy and Menos' chamber pot exploits came to a close. Although, Speedy was still poking fun at the two…

Bumblebee and the others that had just arrived (slash Beastboy, Menos, and Speedy) greeted the injured Atlantean under the coconut tree. The first thing that the aquatic queried was what the other three were doing. They just told him few details about the toilet phobia and Speedy's mini potty toy.

"Where did Speedy get the mini toilet?" Aqualad asked with a raised brow. All of them just shrugged.

"We don't know. And personally, I wouldn't want to know." Bumblebee said.

"Hahahaha. I have to agree… who knows what bizarre collection that guy has…" the Atlantean laughed. The others laughed along. Raven hid a smile from under her hood.

"So, Aqualad! You ready to go back home so we could start fully treating those wounds of yours?" The masked wonder asked after the laughter subsided. The Atlantean thought for a moment.

"I have a better idea. It's too bad that the training had to stop early, but isn't this a great opportunity for us to have some fun?"

"What do you mean?" the two leader's asked.

"We're in an uninhabited island. There's no serious crime going on. Why don't we just take a little break, even for just a few hours? It's also a good way to build up good relations for the two titan sectors."

"Hmm… well…" Robin began to think about it.

"It does sound like fun but what about your injuries..?" Bumblebee reminded the wounded Atlantean.

"I'm fine. It's just a few hours. Besides, I want to take rest for a while before we ride on the T-ship. C'mon, it'll be fun. Speedy and the other two sure are having fun." The prince pointed at the rambunctious three. Beastboy and Menos were still running away in fear while Speedy was chasing them, laughing like a crazed madman. The east leader started to think it over.

"Why don't we just take up that offer?" Cyborg spoke when he noticed that it would take forever before the two leaders could make up their mind.

"I agree with Cyborg. I believe that this would be a much earned rest for all of us." Starfire added.

"Hmm… I don't know…" the masked boy was still unsure.

"It'll be alright Robin." The goth girl placed her hand on her leader's shoulder. "It's just a few hours. It's pretty obvious that everyone here wants to enjoy the beach. You should try spoiling yourself a little more.." the masked leader looked at her. He couldn't help but frown in defeat.

"Oh, all right. But only two hours max. After that, it's back to business. We still have an injured comrade here and I want full reports on what happened on your respective trainings in by tomorrow afternoon." Nobody seemed to be listening to him. They all (except for Raven and Aqualad of course, since he's injured) ran towards the ocean and joined in the torture—I mean therapy of Beastboy and Menos.

Aqualad and Raven watched as the wonderful (and truly chaotic) scenes unfold on the beachside. The changeling and his little partner screaming in horror as the other titans, with glinting evil eyes and a maniacal laugh, chase them. A Kodak moment, if I may say.

"The scene we're seeing right now looks so wrong…" Raven said with a raised brow.

"Hahaha. Yes. But you have to remember that those people are our friends. " Aqualad replied.

"It's times like these that makes me wonder if I made the right choice in joining the Titans."

"Really?" the Atlantean asked, incredulous. "You've had doubts joining the Titans?" the goth girl didn't speak, she looked once again at the crazy scene in the beach.

"Sometimes…" she silently whispered to the wind. The Atlantean frowned.

"So you, there are really times that you regret meeting everyone…." The goth girl looked at the boy and gave him a weak smile.

"I never once regretted that… I was joking when I said I had doubts about meeting everyone… I only doubt myself... the Titans were formed so that they could do good and protect the innocent. It's the total opposite of what I am. I was born and destined to be a gateway for death and suffering… such hypocrisy…" the young girl gave a forlorn frown.

"Hey, c'mon now. What did I tell you about frowning..? You'll get wrinkles… you should stop being so poignant all the time. Today's a rare break time. Enjoy it." The aquatic boy smiled at her.

"Right…. Thanks… I always go out of character when I talk to you… sorry about that."

"It's alright. You can show me every part of you. Good, bad, scary, or irritating. I'll always be there. After all, we're training buddies." The girl didn't reply. Her face was blank. Aqualad wanted so much to stand up and force another smile out of her, but his strength wasn't enough to even make him do that. So he had to think of something else. "If you keep on spacing out like that, I'll lunge at you and kiss you again." That caught her attention. The Goth girl gave him a glare that could've killed little forest creatures.

"Is that a threat? I have to tell you that I don't carry well with threats." She said forebodingly.

"I was just joking… hehe.." the boy gave out a weak laugh.

"I'm sure….hmmm… that little joke of yours reminds me..." The goth girl's eyes began to have the same familiar glint the mischievous redhead archer has. "You _did_ kiss me without permission. And that…" her sentence trailed off. The young girl showed a little smirk. The aquatic prince could feel an impending danger at his life once more. The words "shark bait" passed by his mind.

"I should've just kept my mouth shut…" the sound of the waves got stronger.

"Yes, you should've." the distant voice of cyborg called out to the half-demoness.

"Can't we reschedule my death sentence? The others seem to be calling you." Beastboy and Menos' scream got stronger as well.

"Don't worry this won't take long." The goth girl raised her hand, ready to strike.

"Then can I at least make a request?"

"What is it…?"

"Can you tell me what your favorite color is already?"

"Hmm… maybe, after I give you your punishment."

"Great." The boy weakly said as he closed shut his eyes. _I seriously shouldn't have gotten up this morning. _With that thought he was ready to face…pain? the young prince, still his eyes closed, felt something soft pressed against his lips. It was a familiar sensation. When the boy opened his eyes. The girl was done with what she was doing.

"An eye for an eye." She impishly said. "And I _**trust**_that you wouldn't put any other meaning into it." With that, Raven began walking towards the others to join in the "therapy" session of Beastboy and Menos. The Atlantean sat there, motionless, trying to figure out what just happened. _I'm still alive…? _He absentmindedly pinched himself to make sure that this wasn't a dream _She….she…. _the boy finally noticed.

"She still didn't tell me what her favorite color is! Even after all that!" the boy shouted at no one in particular. The laughter (and screams) of his comrades caught his attention. They were having so much fun that one could've thought that they were really just ordinary teens. The boy smiled. _Oh, well…. There's still time… I can make her tell me her favorite color…_

On the uninhabited island, 10 teenage superheroes were playing. The sun's rays touched the crystal sea water. Light reflected by this water showed a beautiful cerulean blue color that copied the clear blue sky.

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_scenes are getting more corny as they go... darn it... really want to do this story but don't have time... =( ah...well... till then..._


	12. Divine Tofu (Burger) Punishment

_Hey there! umm... yeah... this is the 12th chap now... i decided that i'll just put in the whole story.. no sequels since it's tiring and i'm lazy... so.. here.. there really isn't much interaction on Raven and Aqualad here.. sorry. might not be able to work on the stories for a while... lots of school work and stuff... _

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Part 11: Divine Tofu (Burger) Punishment: Green vs. Blue…. and the Winner Is…!

There are times in life when the things you work on the most just suddenly disappears and you're left angry and confused. For Beast Boy, it has been happening for about a week now and not only is he left angry and confused… he is also left hungry….

"WHERE'S MY TOFU BURGER!" Beast Boy's wail resonated all throughout the Titan's tower. The door to the common room swished open and a sleepy Cyborg entered.

"What's with all the noise?" the mechanoid yawned. And the changeling quickly pounced on his metal friend.

_CRASH!_

"DID YOU EAT MY TOFU BURGER!" the green boy's eyes were filled with a crazy rage. It was like a wild animal whose prey had been stolen from it. For those who don't know, eating Beast Boy's tofu provisions is a grave taboo in the West Titan Tower. It goes along side not entering Raven's room and not badmouthing Starfire's cooking. Cyborg here was the unfortunate child that had to witness the young changeling's wrath.

"I SAID: DID _YOU. _EAT. MY. TOFU BURGER!" Beast Boy showed his bare teeth. They began growing longer and sharper. The boy had now changed into a huge Saber tooth Tiger. Cyborg could now feel oil leaking from his lower extremities…

"I didn't do it!" the mechanoid half screamed and shrieked. "I just woke up! B-besides… You're the only one here that can stand eating that tofu junk!" the green Saber tooth eyed the elder titan before letting him go. Cyborg sighed in relief and observed the changeling sniffing around the kitchen. After a while, it was pretty obvious that the lost tofu burger was nowhere to found in the common room/kitchen. The green Saber looked at the mechanoid with teary pleading eyes that seemed to be saying. "_Where did my tofu burger go?"_

"I don't know…." the elder titan shook his head and frowned, "the only people I know that can eat them tofu of yours are you and…" his sentence trailed off. "Ah, crap…" Beast Boy's eyes flashed and the hair all over his body started to stand. After a couple of sniffs on the air, the Saber toothed changeling was ready to attack… the location of his prey: A few meters below his location. Outside the Tower. On the sea. The prey itself: The prince of Atlantis. The blue humanoid amphibian. Aqualad, who was currently doing his daily surfing. The Saber tooth released his claws and a bizarre grin traced along his face.

"Not again…" Cyborg gave out a pained sigh, "Please use the door this ti-!"

_CRASH!_

Too late… The sound of the broken window and the Saber's roar penetrated through the air. Down below, one could see the shards of glass glimmer as the sunlight's rays hit them. The changeling was closing in on his prey. The Atlantean was lazily floating on the water. He was taking a short break from his surfing. _Perfect..! _the green titan thought as he silently cackled to himself. He could feel adrenaline rush through his body as he drew nearer and nearer towards his prey who oblivious to the danger nearing. And then….

_sploosH!_

Beast Boy…

Missed his target...

Just when he was about to lunge at the Atlantean, the aquatic prince suddenly (and quickly) moved away from his spot. Apparently there was a huge wave coming and he didn't want to miss it. And so Beast Boy, in giant cat mode, does what most cat do when they're on deep water… Sink…

"Hmm..?" Aqualad stopped for a moment. He heard bubbling sounds from behind. He looked and saw that there were indeed bubbles on the water. "Wonder what that is..?" the curiosity of the boy quickly vanished. He just shrugged and began moving to the incoming waves once more. Suddenly, something got a hold of his leg and dragged him into the water. He was met with the angry green eyes of the young changeling in Octopus form. The eyes were screaming "_YOU ATE MY DELICIOUS TOFU BURGER!"_

The green octopus curled its free tentacles, readying to punch the blue boy. Aqualad swiftly freed one of his hands and made a whirlpool around them. It sucked the two inside and spat them on the shore. The changeling lost his grip on the Atlantean due to the spinning inside the whirlpool. The blue boy was able to free himself from the changeling's grasp. When Beast Boy's world was no longer rotating, he saw that the aquatic prince was staring at him. Without a second thought, he changed back and grabbed the prince's suit.

"YOU ATE IT DIDN'T YOU!" he was half growling. The Atlantean merely stared at him, unfazed.

"Ate, what exactly?" his voice was nonchalant. This just made the changeling more pissed.

"MY DELICIOUS TOFU HAMBURGER FROM THE FRIDGE! YOU ATE IT! I KNOW YOU DID!" he tightened his grip and his teeth began growing once more. The Atlantean's face didn't change and he merely sighed.

"I don't know what you're talking about… I didn't find any delicious tofu burger anywhere in the fridge…"

"You.. didn't..?" the changeling loosen his grip.

"No… all I found there were stale pizza slices, Starfire's pink goo, milk that's turning to yogurt… and a thing that looked like a burger but tasted nothing like it.. I had no choice but to eat it since it was the only thing that still seemed to be edible.." the changeling regained his grip hold on the Atlantean. Veins were starting to form on his head.

"You.. You said you didn't eat my burger.. But what you just said…."

"I remember you saying '_delicious_ tofu burger..' but the burger I ate this morning was far from being delicious. I don't even think it was fit to be eaten by me.. If that was really your burger then you should thank me for saving you from eating such a repulsive dish…" the changeling's body was now starting to shake.

"He…hehe…hehehe… funny… you… funny…burger..my tofu… you…you…" the changeling's eyes flashed.

"RECEIVE DIVINE TOFU PUNISHMENT!"

A heated battle between the two began on an early morning. Nothing and no one could stop the two. Well… there is someone that can currently stop them. A person more fearsome than Beast Boy's divine tofu punishment… unfortunately, that person is busy at the moment…

*huff* *puff* "I'm surprised that you can still keep up…" Robin complimented his partner.

*huff* *puff* "Believe me… this is nothing… are you ready for some more?" Raven gave a playful smirk at the boy wonder.

"You mean you still want to go at it!" the boy wonder couldn't believe this new found endurance the goth girl acquired.

"Of course." She matter-of-factly replied. A huge grin spread across the masked boy's face.

"Heh… I knew I wasn't wrong when I chose you…." He took a deep breath and.. "Hyahhh!" he quickly thrust his staff at the girl. But the girl nimbly dodged the attack and countered with a roundhouse kick. The boy stopped the kick using his staff. He smirked. "Definitely wasn't wrong when I chose you to be my training partner today. Too bad using your powers is against the rules."

"Don't get so cocky wonder boy…" the goth girl cautioned. He simply smirked and pushed the staff. This made the girl, whose foot was on the staff, loose her balance and fall on the ground.

"Who's getting cocky, you say..?" he was about to show a victory grin when the goth girl suddenly spun (like Eddy in Tekken) and hit the masked boy's leg. She was now the one standing up while the boy was on the ground. With her arms on her hips she gave a little smile.

"You're the one who's cocky, wonder boy." Robin stared for a moment, trying to figure out what just happened.

"I don't believe it..." he slapped his forehead and laughed. "You've certainly improved." The girl hid a bashful smile and reached out a hand to her leader.

"I told you not to get so cocky…" she simply said.

"I'll remember that next time we do a one-on-one again." The boy wonder began dusting his suit. "But really… I'm amazed by your improvement.. Not to mention your new determination on learning hand-to-hand combat. You used to find loads of excuses just to skip this part of training. But to think that you'd be the one to ask me!" he couldn't hold back his proud smile. He felt like a father who's proud of his straight A's child. But the goth girl's reaction was far from an ecstatic child showing off to her father.

"Yeah.. Well.. I can't… I shouldn't depend on my powers so much.." she looked away and clenched her fists. The masked boy could feel.. no… he _knew _ that his comrade's sad reaction had something to do with what happened on the coop training they had before with the East Titans.

"Raven…" he placed his hands on her shoulder, "You know you can tell me anything right…? Why won't you tell me what happened back then…? I can feel there's something wrong, but I can't read your mind... please…"

"…" she knew what he meant… it's not just because they shared a special type of bond. She knew that he would go out of his way to make sure that she wouldn't get hurt. He was that type of guy. The type that cared a lot for his teammates and for everyone. But she didn't want to burden him with her own faults.

"There's nothing wrong Robin… You're thinking too much…"

"Raven… Look.. I—"the masked boy was interrupted by an incoming transmission. With an exasperated voice that matched his face he answered his communicator. "What is it!"

"_Rob!" _the voice of a helpless Cyborg answered. _"You gotta help me!" _there were sounds of crashes, elephant noises and things breaking in the background.

"Cy? What's going on! Where are you!" the young leader began to worry as the strange noises grew louder.

"_I'm outside the tower!" _a sound of a mad cheetah voiced in the transmission along with Cyborg's yelp. _"CODE TOFU! CODE TOFU! HURRY ROB! AND BR-!" _the transmission was cut, but the mechanoid's last message was all the masked boy needed to know.

"Rae, you heard Cyborg. Looks like we'll have to discuss this another time…Let's go!" Robin quickly ran out of the training area. Raven followed the boy wonder outside the tower while breathing a sigh of relief. At usual situations she would have slapped Beast Boy because of his tofu tantrums, but this time she was slightly thankful. After all, she didn't like the conversation she was having with their leader.

Cyborg was ready to write his last will and testament when Robin and Raven arrived at the scene. Beast Boy was now in T-Rex mode and Aqualad was summoning up a huge tidal wave.

"You guys are gonna break the tower!" Cyborg screamed.

"Cy!" Robin went beside his distraught friend. "What happened? What did Aqualad do to Beast Boy's tofu?"

"He _ATE_ Beast Boy's tofu!" this was all that Cyborg could say before a rock hit his head and caused him to faint.

"Cy!" the boy wonder brought out his staff and blocked the other incoming rocks. "Shoot… how are we suppose to stop those two, like this!"

"Those two imbeciles…" the young girl muttered.

They were now ready. Beast Boy roared and pushed forward. Aqualad also let out a battle cry and began making hand movements. This was it. The thing that will end it all. The one left standing would be the victor and the loser would be the one who was wrong about the tofu hamburger...

But before the two could let either of their attacks touch each other, a black aura surrounded them. They were lifted up and then slammed quite violently on the ground. Both of them got KOed instantly. Little tofu burgers with wings started spinning around their heads.

"You two really are idiots… " the goth girl declared, "But thanks to you two, the conversation with Robin was stopped… so you should be thankful I went easy on you today.." with that, she turned around and walked back into the tower. "I'm gonna go drink my tea now."

The green and blue boy didn't exactly hear what the girl had said to them since they were too busy with the flying tofu burgers, but they knew that they lost… again..

"So that makes Beast Boy and Aqualad zero and Raven 4…" Robin calculated.

So ends the Divine Tofu (Burger) Punishment conflict… well.. sort of..

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_see ya when i see ya guys... maybe i won't be able to write anymore... *sigh* since i'm already doing a lot of writing in my subjects already.. peace out and thanks for reading..! ^_^_


	13. Court Proceedings

_A/N: decided to make the chapters a little shorter... there's not much comedy here.. sorry.._

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Part 13: Court Proceedings: The Unexpected Reaction of the Half-demon

"Hold on! I can't mediate between you two if you speak at the same time!" Robin was having a hard time trying to resolve the growing conflict of Aqualad and Beast Boy. After Raven beat them cold the boy wonder had to wake Cyborg up so that he could help carry the two unconscious friends/enemies to the infirmary. He thought that when they would wake up, they'd already make up and forget about the whole incident. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Titan green and Titan blue woke up at the same time and when they saw each other ligatures had to be used. Oh, and also duct tape when they couldn't stop yelling at each other. It took some time before they both agreed to stop screaming and the tape was taken off.

"Then I'll talk first!" Beast Boy announced.

"No, I will! Why should an imp like you speak first?" Aqualad retorted.

"What did you say! You wanna try saying that to my face again!"

"I'm already saying it to your face! And frankly, I'm having a hard time looking down at your face even though we're already sitting down!" Beast Boy turned into a dog and started barking.

"No transforming!" Robin ordered and slapped the changeling dog in the head. The green boy whimpered and changed back. Aqualad smirked and planned to say something when, "And no wisecracking! We're here to resolve conflict, not make it worse!"

"Still no progress?" Cyborg inquired as he entered the infirmary.

"What do you think?" the masked boy sarcastically responded.

"Chill Rob… I'm here to help." The mechanoid looked at the two tied up titans. "I think Beast Boy should go first since it was his burger that got victimized." The changeling beamed a smile at the elder titan while Aqualad pouted, and said "Fine.."

"You're the best Cy!" the changeling cleared his voice, "Your honor. I accuse Aqualad of eating my DELICIOUS tofu burger without my permission and left me to die of hunger." Beast Boy was resolute.

"Alright… what makes you say that he was the one that ate it..?" Robin didn't mind he was referred to as 'Your Honor.' He actually sorta liked that title.

"He admitted it himself!" the changeling moved around a little bit to free a finger and pointed accusingly at the Atlantean.

"No I didn't!" the prince swiftly interjected.

"Aqualad, it's still not your turn." Cyborg answered. So the blue boy just glared at the changeling. The young titan raspberried in reply as he continued with his explaination.

"Well, I asked him nicely if he ate my burger in the fridge and he said that he did."

"Hmm… alright. Aqualad, you're turn." The masked boy gave the floor to the Atlantean.

'I can't understand why I'm the accused here, when I'm the one that's really been victimized." The blue boy let out an irritated sigh before continuing. "I never said that I ate the imp's burger. I just told him that I ate the only thing that seemed to be edible from the fridge. What I ate did sort of looked like a burger but the taste was from being a burger… or even tofu.."

"I see.." the judge began contemplating.

"Oh, yes.. I almost forgot. I never knew that "asking nicely" meant sneak attacking a person and just beating him up without enough evidence… it's that some sort of imp tradition you practice?" the young boy glared and smirked at the changeling. The provoked child instantly changed into a rhino, freed himself from the ropes began attacking.

"Cyborg! Quick! The tranquilizer!"

_CRASH! BAM! BOOM!_

..This court trial might take a while…

-x-x-x-

A few distances away from the trial Raven was peacefully drinking her usual herbal tea in the common room. The crashes and chaos in the med ward could be heard but she paid no mind to it. She had more important matters to attend to.

The sea outside the window showed a beautiful blue. They were like precious sapphire stones glittering in the sunlight. A smile crept on the face of the young girl as she remembered the cerulean worms in the cavern. The girl unconsciously went near and placed her hand on the window, touching the deep blue water in her mind.

"I miss those little blue worms… I also miss…" the goth girl stopped and shook her head. "What was I about to say..? I thought I already fixed this.. How many times do I have to tell myself that what happened was just a coping mechanism… there's no deep meaning... nothing… no connection.."

The goth girl quickly drank her tea and turned away from the window. She was about to exit the common room when the 4 boys from the ward came in.

There was still a small air of tension hanging about the green and blue titan but it seemed like Robin was able to make them come to an agreement not to maim each other for a while.

The masked boy made his way to the fridge while Cyborg made himself comfy on the couch and preoccupied himself with slapstick cartoons. The other two looked for something to do and immediately saw the half-demoness.

"Hey Raven!" they both greeted. They glared at each other and pointed an finger at one another. "Hey!" they once again said in unison.

"Uh.. Hey." Raven replied without making eye contact to either of the two. She didn't feel like talking, especially to the Atlantean. She'd been avoiding the young prince for 3 days now and she wasn't planning on stopping.

_Not yet… _She said to herself. _I still need more time before I can talk to him like before… I just need more time… _

While the goth girl was talking to herself the green and blue titan were looking for a topic of interest to talk to the girl in front of them.

"Nice weather we're having, huh?"

"Nice weather hey Rae?" the two said, yet again at the same time and annoyance was once again growing.

"Stop following me!" the changeling accused.

"What do you mean by that! You're the one that's been following me!" the Atlantean retorted. Veins popped on the head of the two and they started to once again bicker like little children.

The half-demoness was about to silently step away from the fight and go out of the room when the changeling suddenly pushed the prince. Raven could not respond in time and they collided to each other.

_CRASH!_

Robin and Cyborg quickly stopped whatever they were doing and looked at the location of the three, hoping that the crash they heard wasn't…

"Oh crap.. It really is.." Cyborg dropped the remote he was holding and hid behind the couch.

"You guys really want to get killed don't you?" Robin upsettingly looked the two boys that were no longer bickering.

They both felt their soul leaving their body as they looked at the broken pieces of porcelain on the floor and the spilt tea that it was once holding. Every titan knew the dire consequences one would face when they would do something ridiculous like going inside the goth girl's room. But none of them had ever—_could_ ever imagine what would happen if you disturbed the half-demoness in her tea session and to actually break her favorite tea mug at the same time was just… well, plain stupid and it's just asking for an early Armageddon.

Silence.

The young girl did not move from her position. She didn't speak. She just looked at the broken remains of what was once her tea mug.

Cyborg was hastily writing his last will and Robin was readying himself for whatever chaos Raven would unleash,

Raven took a step forward.

Aqualad and Beast Boy closed their eyes in response. Readying themselves with whatever death sentence the half-demoness had decided. Sweat trickled down their faces as they swallowed hard.

Then…

_Swoosh!_

Aqualad and Beast Boy opened their eyes to see that nothing had happened to them. The young goth girl did nothing and said nothing. She just went out of the common room without a word.

"Phew!" Cyborg threw away the paper he was writing on and did what he was doing earlier. Robin went near the green changeling and punched his head.

"Ow! What was that for!" The young titan rubbed his head.

"What were you thinking! How could you be so careless.!" The west titan leader began his long sermon, while Aqualad still had not moved away from where he was standing. His face was expressionless but his eyes were looking down on the floor.

A call coming from the East Titan rung in the common room. Looks like the TV session and sermon would have to wait for a while as the masked leader ordered them to go to the communications room. But it seemed like the Atlantean did not hear.

"Aqualad!" the masked leader barked. The Atlantean slowly moved away from the spot. And with a last glance on the floor, he went to the communications room.

The common room was now quiet as there was no one inside. The view from the window still shone an enchanting blue outside as the waves crashed in and out.

Another color shone in the sun's light but it was not that of childish blue, but a slightly tainted brown. The liquid with no pure form spread and made itself comfortable on the common room floor and the broken pieces of the black mug slightly glittered along sunlight.

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_i feel like i made the end of this chapter a little serious... sorry. hehe.. i'm making another story right now you see.. and it's a new project that's challenging me right now since it's tottaly different from my usual writing.. since it's actually rated M..if guys want.. you can check it out. it's entitled dead stars.. it's a robxstar angst thing... anyway.. i promise to make the next chapter have more touching moments between Aqua and Rae. (i kinda like this pairing anyway) just hope i have enough time and ideas... haha.. this is the last thing i'm writing before i go to sleep.. it's 12AM here in my clock... looks like three is my limit.. i mean writing and updating stories.. three chaps is my limit... well.. good day guys! sorry for the long chat._


	14. The Bee Knows

_A/N: took me a while to wirte this.. was being torn between writing and watching TV.. just love watching Cyril and his magic tricks! and i got to see michael j. fox acting when he was still a kid.. at least, i think it was michael j. fox... anyway, i'm gonna apologize right now coz this chap don't have the aquarae moment i promised last time.. but i swear that the next chap will definitely have it! i just wanted to use this chap to show kid's and jericho's prankster side and also to make fun of Speedy. have fun reading..!_

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**Part 14:** The Bee Knows: Party Planning and Sexy Bunny Suits

"Hey there! Sorry for bothering you guys!" the east titan leader's face flashed on the 52 inch LCD screen in the communications room.

"It's alright Bee." The masked boy gave one of his "work" smiles.

"If you ask me you have one of the best timing! You totally saved me from a 2 hour lecture! Hail!" Beast Boy raised one if his hand and did a Hitler-like salute to the east leader on the screen.

"Don't think I'm finished with you Beast Boy." Robin struck a weak punch on the changelings head. "So Bee, what's up? Any trouble there in Steel City?"

"No worries here. It's always the same.. Well, except maybe—"

_Swoosh!_

A red figure swooped by behind the east leader.

_Crash!_

A yellow and red figure also passed by after the crash.

"I shall never surrender!" it was the red-head archer's voice.

"Hahaha! We'll see about that! Mas! Menos! Help me out here guys!" The two brothers happily went to the location of the voice while carrying some carrots.

"Never!" the archer screamed.

"Uhhh… Bee..?" the masked boy wasn't quite sure what was happening, but one thing he was sure of was that the owner of the other voice earlier was…

"Is Kid Flash hanging out at your place?"" Cyborg completed the masked boy's thought.

"Yup. He's helping us out for a while since we're missing a team member here." Bumble Bee raised a teasing brow and looked at the aquatic prince at the back.

"I apologize." The blue boy gave a slight bow.

"Izalryt Aqualad! We already agreed that you'd be the one to go to the West tower and observe how they go about organizing their crime fighting and house work, since we always have a hard time balancing it here.. Especially the housework." Sounds of struggling, laughing and screaming could still be heard at the bees background. The aquatic prince was about to say something but the changeling suddenly spoke.

"Hey, can't you guys replace him? He's been munching on my tofu for a week now without my permission!"

"Stop falsely accusing people you green blob." The Atlantean quickly replied.

"Who are you calling a blob!"

"You." Titan green and titan blue began bickering once again.

"They always like this huh?" Bumble bee asked.

"Yeah. Pretty much." Was all the masked leader could say. Behind Bumble Bee, the twin brothers seemed to have been kicked as they flew to the other side.

"Wahahaha! You can never make me! You only have 60 seconds left. I win this bet!" Speedy boasted.

"Guess I have no choice. Hey Jericho. You're up!" Jericho passed by the screen.

"No.. You're not.. No.." the red-head's voice was shaking.

"Sorry Speedy o'l buddy o' mine. But I win this bet." A horrible scream was heard and then silence.

"That was… Jericho, right?" the masked boy queried. Fits of laughter vibrated throughout the East tower.

"Yeah.. He—oh my! Hahahahaha.!" Bumble bee began laughing.

"Bee? What's so funny?" the guys at the other line were confused until Speedy went to the screen.

"Oh my-! Wahahahaha!" the guys at the west tower finally found out why the east leader and everyone else there were laughing. Even the green and blue titan stopped fighting when they saw it.

Speedy, in full sexy bunny suit, was flashing on the screen, eating a fresh carrot.

It took a while before they calmed down. Kid Flash took Mas, Menos, Speedy and Jericho out of the room as Bee commanded. Before they left, Kid said something about taking pictures and e-bay.

"Haha.. hahaha.. Man… something interesting always comes up when Kid Flash is around." Cyborg was trying to breathe properly after laughing so hard.

"Hahaha.. yeah.. I gotta ask for those pictures from him…" Robin was also gasping for breath.

"Why is Jericho also there?" Aqualad was the very first to recover and only snickered when he saw the bunny Speedy.

"Hahaha.. well.. hold on.." Bumble Bee took a deep breath. "Phew.. *ahem* well… I'm actually making some calls to all the other titans. We're planning a party."

"A party!" Beast Boy's eyes sparkled with delight at the word party.

"Cool. What's the occasion?" the masked boy asked.

"We heard that Raven's birthday was coming up. So we decided to have a party and invite the other titans. Kid Flash and Jericho offered to help organize the party." The west titan boys' jaw dropped.

"How'd you know Raven's birthday is near!" Beast Boys asked, baffled. The east leader didn't reply but just took a glance at her aquatic team mate who was just standing there. His face expressionless.

"Well.. That's my little secret." She gave a teasing wink.

"Bumble Bee!" The aquatic prince's voice was higher than usual. "*ahem* May I take my leave now, seeing that you called for reasons that does not concern me.." the way the prince spoke was more of a command than a request.

"Sure. You probably have a more important _person _to attend to anyway." Bumble bee was enjoying this. She had a few ideas as to why the prince insisted that he should go to the West tower.

"Thank you." The prince turned around like a robot and began walking out of the door. He bumped into some paraphernalia in the room before he made it out. The East leader giggled as she looked at the reaction of her team member. The other three boys just looked at the Atlantean.

"What's happened to him?" Robin asked.

"Dunno. Maybe the tofu hamburger he ate really was bad." Cyborg replied.

"Don't talk bad about my tofu!" Beast Boy screamed. The east leader just looked at the confused three and shook her head.

"Sometimes you guys are just so slow.. Hey Robin, can talk to you in private?"

"Huh..? Wha? Oh, sure. You two go ahead."

"What? Are you going to talk about Raven's party? Coz if you guys are, I'm not moving an inch here!" the changeling declared. If it's anything about Raven, he'd want to help out immediately.

"I want to stay too." Cyborg's actually wanted more time with Bee.

"Don't worry Beast Boy, we're not gonna talk about that. I'll make sure to contact you and you can be the main organizer for the event." Beast Boy practically squealed with delight and merrily skipped out of the room.

"And Cyborg, please leave. We can talk later." the mechanoid reluctantly left the room.

"Wow. You take better control than me." The masked wonder praised. Bumble Bee proudly lifted her head high and smiled.

"That's the magic of a woman's touch."

"So what do you want to talk about?"

"I just wanted to thank you for agreeing to take in Aqualad for a while."

"It's no big deal. But I just can't see what you mean by Aqualad becoming more open when he's here. I mean. I don't see any visible change in him."

"Believe me Rob. That stiff boy's beginning change a lot. And for the better."

"Okay.. But I still can't see it.." the masked boy just shrugged. He agreed to Bumble Bee's request since the idea of the perfect Atlantean to becoming a bit more well.. Human and not so perfect.. Interesting.

"*sigh* Sometimes men are just so… well.. Just take my word for it. Change of topic. How are you and Star doing?"

"What?" a blush unconsciously crept on the masked boy's face and he began cleaning out things on a nearby table.

"Uh-huh…" the east leader raised a brow. "Well. Seeing by that reaction of yours, I already have my answer."

"Wha-wha-whatareyoutalkingabout?" the boy dropped a stack of folders he was arranging. "Ow!" while the distressed masked boy was clumsily picking up the folders, it seems like Speedy got back control over his body.

"Gaaaahh! Yuck! Blech! You. Guys. ARE SO DEAD!" A tint of murder could be felt from his voice.

"Hahaha. Just try and catch us bunny boy! C'mon Jericho! The twins can run just as fast anyway!" the twins giggle and said something in Spanish.

"Raaahhhggghh!" the sound of arrows and explosions resounded althroughout the tower.

"Wahahaha! Run for your lives! A raging bunny boy's on the loose!" Kid Flash and the others weren't afraid at all… they were having a lot of fun.

_BOOM!_

Bee placed a hand on her face and shook her head.

"Men…"

-x-x-x-

Raven phased into her room via soul-self and slumped down on her bed. Pulling on her bed sheets, she tries to calm herself down.

_Breath Raven… Breath.. You can't get angry… You can't afford to lose control of your emotions. It's just a mug. _The young girl brought her knees to her stomach and positioned herself on her bed like a fetus. She gritted her teeth. _But that wasn't just an ordinary mug… He gave it to me… _The goth girl stopped thinking as she felt a familiar scorching feeling building up in her body. She looked at her hands and the accursed red markings were starting to form. Tears were welling up as she quickly hid under her sheets and hid. She felt scared. And alone.

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_sorry for suddenly destroying the happy mood at the last part. but that's life. happy. sad. happy. sad.. we can only do so much.. can anyone guess who gave her that mug and when she got it? right one that can guess first gets to decide a scene i'll make for this story! remember, you guys have to say when she got it too.. if it's incomplete, you ah' dizqualifyde!_


	15. Talk: Promises of Ice Cream

_dammit.. i'm sorry for the people who like reading this story, but i just feel so depressed now that i can't really write but i decided to post this last bit i was able to make before i lost my will to write.. i feel really guilty to the peopel who like reading this (if there are still any..) ..hopefully i'd get around this depression and worry and continue the story...hopefully.. but for now.. this will be the last thing i'll be posting for a while.. sorry._

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**Part 15: **Talk: Promises of Ice Cream

Raven's whole body was shaking. Half because of the excruciating pain she felt coursing through her and half because of the fear she was feeling. This feeling of helplessness and trepidation, slowly eating up her sanity made her feel hollow. Unknown to her, an unspeakable rage was slowly forming inside her.

It wasn't just because of the tea mug. Raven had been battling sleepless nights and recurring nightmares for the past few days already. The mocking voice of his father in the cavern continued to taunt her. Then the event when she almost killed Aqualad… she could see, hear, feel and experience everything that happened that day. But she couldn't control her body.. She was a helpless audience when the monstrous being took control of her body… no... wait… it wasn't a monstrous being… it was her… Her other side.. The young girl's body and mind was at its limit.

Books, figurines, clothes and other things inside her room turned black and began levitating. Finding the source of their newfound flight, they began twirling and dancing above the bed.

_Make it stop! Make it stop! _She was now clutching her head and pulling her hair. Tears were now falling from her eyes, making the bed sheets damp and then cold.

She started feeling another presence nearing her room. The image of a giant demon with four merciless eyes formed in her mind. _Make it stop! _The presence was growing. It was getting nearer and nearer. It seemed like it was calling her name.

"Raven…" the goth girls eyes opened with fear.

"Nooo!" the dark floating paraphernalia moved in accord and flung towards the open window.

"Wha-! Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

_Splash!_

The dark girl panted heavily and stared out the empty window. The red marks on her body had disappeared and so did the pain. _The scream just now… that was…_

"Do you hate me _that _much?" the owner of the scream earlier queried. The prince's of the deep wet and annoyed face was now outside the window. He spat some water in his mouth.

"A-Aqualad?" the young girl felt a small relief as she saw the prince's face. But she quickly brushed it off and turned away from the Atlantean.

"Yeah… Nice to see you too..." his voice was sarcastic. "By the way, I think you dropped these." A medium size wave of water rushed inside the goth girls window carrying the things she threw earlier. The Atlantean did some hand gestures and all the water inside the room exited itself and went back into the sea.

The half-demoness still did not respond.

"What? No thank you or I'm sorry for throwing my whole room at you?" the prince didn't mean to sound so angry but having things at you for no apparent reason really is frustrating. Not to mention he still hadn't gotten over from the tofu incident earlier.

"Thanks. Now get out of my room." her voice was cold. The prince frowned and let out a heavy sigh.

"Look… I'm sorry for barging in your room and… for... *sigh*" the prince went closer.

The goth girl still didn't move. She didn't want to look at the Atlantean. _Just ignore him and he'll go away… Just ignore… Just ig—_

Raven felt something cold on her cheek. She opened her eyes that she hadn't noticed was shut and saw a familiar black and silver porcelain.

"Is that..?" she took the object from the prince's hand and inspected it. "It really is.."

In her hands she held a black mug. Beautiful silver patterns that formed her name covered the body. The mug that was broken earlier. _It's the mug he gave…_

"Thought you'd might miss that.." the Atlantean made his way to the open window. "Sorry for intruding."

"Wait!" The prince turned and saw the tear stained face of the half-demoness.

"Raven? What happened? Were you cry—" The scene where Beast Boy pushed him and the tea mug breaking played in his mind. "Oh man… I'm so sorry..." when she realized what the Atlantean was talking about she quickly turned around and wiped her face. _How embarrassing. _She thought. _No one's ever seen my like this… _

The Atlantean closed his eyes and frowned. He went near the young girl and placed a hand on her petite shoulder. "I'm sorry for breaking your mug and for everything else I've done wrong…"

"You don't… You don't have to apologize… You didn't do anything stupid…yet.. Heh.." she was starting to calm down. " And the mug... You fixed it… That's right.." the goth girl only realized now. She turned and with a questioning look in her face. "How were you able to fix this? It was shattered… But the mug—" She began feeling the ceramic in her hands. No signs of it being glued or even being cracked could be found/felt. "How's this possible? This was custom made and…" a finger was placed in her lips.

The prince warmly smiled. "That's my little secret." He said mysteriously and patted the girl's head.

_It's warm… _The girl couldn't help but feel relieved when she feels the warm hands of the boy touching her. _Wait... No… this is just an illusion. _She slowly pushed away the hand of the prince.

"Sorry." His voice sounded hurt. The boy sat on the bed, his back facing the girl.

The room returned to its usual silence.

…

"Say, Raven…" the aquatic boy finally spoke. "Can I ask you a question..?" The young girl did not reply. But the boy persisted. "Can I? I promise not to ask a color question first."

A smile quietly moved on her face.

Silence.

"You already asked a question, Fish Bait." Her voice was softer than usual but the monotonousness was still there. The Atlantean felt something on his back. Raven apparently had now positioned back to lie on his. The boy couldn't help but smile.

"So that's a yes?"

The half-demoness moved to nudge the prince. "Yeah."

"Why have you been avoiding me for the past few days…?"

…

"Raven?"

"That's because… I needed time to think.."

"About what..?

"Things.." the young girl took a deep breath. "Look… can you forget everything that happened in the cavern..?" the Atlantean was puzzled with her request.

"What? What do you mean forget? And everything?"

"That's exactly what I mean. I want you to forget everything that transpired there and to distance yourself from me… like how we were before.. Before the training program…" she felt a strong pain in her chest. She knew it was a selfish request and she expected the boy to get mad at her.

"Can I ask why?" his voice was calm.

"Why..? Because.." she was stammering. "Because I feel irritated when we talk.." That was a lie.

"You always feel irritated with almost everything and almost everyone.." He had a point.

"That.. That's different.." she couldn't think of any good reasons.. The real reason why she didn't want them to be so close was because…

"How is it different..?"

She didn't answer.

"Tch. If you don't tell me I won't leave the room."

Still no response.

The boy turned around and made the girl face him. "C'mon tell me..!"

"It's because you constantly stir up my emotions!" she finally said it. That took a while, didn't it? But her response being in the realm of language contains different meanings and interpretations.

"What did you say?" the aquatic boy's face was deep red. The goth girl finally realized one of the interpretations to what she just said, not to mention her face was also flushed when she answered. So she quickly turned away.

"Don't get any strange ideas! I told you about how my power works right? I need to get in control of my emotions so that nothing bad happens. And I'm not used to someone hanging around with me and pestering me all the time. Even Beast Boy doesn't bother me all the time..!" Well.. What she said really was the truth.

"Oh… So.. that's what you—" the Atlantean felt even more embarrassed. "*ahem* Well.."

"Well what?" she didn't want to look at him in the eye.

"I decline your offer."

"What?"

"I decline it.. I understand why you're so cautious.. But you can't forget about your father's resurrection. And I'm not going to just forget about it too. I told you that I want to gain your trust Raven. So I'm not going to stop what I've been doing."

"So.."

"But I'm also not going to disregard what you just said… I'm sorry if I've been such a pain for the past few days. I'll be distancing myself from you like you want but I'm still going to keep an eye on you. And if there's a chance for us to talk just like this I'll immediately take it." The Atlantean reached out and held the goth girl's chin. He made her head turn to make their eyes meet. "And I want to make sure that the next time you cry, I'll be there to help calm you down." Those empathetic amethyst eyes of the boy reflected only the truth and Raven couldn't help but get sucked in to them.

"You really are a hard-headed Fish Bait aren't you?" the boy gave her a caring smile.

"I'll forever be your Fish Bait. Well… not unless you promote me to something better." A small smile crept in her face.

"We'll just have to see… maybe next time you'll be a maggot."

The boy slightly frowned. "Not much of a promotion.. I'd still be a worm.." he let go of the girl and went to the window. "Stop hording problems and worries. I'll always be here to help carry your load. Oh, by the way, you owe me an ice cream tomorrow for ignoring me for throwing your room at me." The boy gave her a playful smile before diving out into the sea.

The smile on the girl's face vanished as soon as the Atlantean left.

"I'm sorry Aqualad.. But I won't be here tomorrow…"


	16. Penance: Things Never Goes Raven's Way

_still feel bad.. but i think just sulking won't do any good... and i think stopping what i'm doing here really isn't kind to you guys, the readers, who wait... my high school friends took me to a resort and treated me so that also helped and got to do this chap so i'd really like to thank them... i'd also like to take this time to thank everyone who's been suportive since i started this story... Daisuke Niwa, IluvBatman, DomiiCalifornia, Choco, Duncan-Gwen-Roxx formerly known aquaven11 (I miss you a lot and your comments..), NinjaBunnyOverlord, Lexy66, aquaray8, z fire, laceykkroth, IsabellaRoth (i'm still waiting for ur other review with mch anticipation), Cori the Freak-of-nature (here'sthe update..), the dude who complained to me.. (if you're still reeading the story i'm sorry if it's still not that good.. i'm trying my best, though.. and thanks for the comment), and crazy nerd (thanks.. i found looking at the sky while drinking tea is good way to help me.. i also like looking at the stars btw). thanks everyone.. i promise to be more responsive to your comments even though i'm not really the talking type.. so here's ch 16.. it's a bit confusing.. sorry_

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**Part 14: **Penance: Things Never Goes Raven's Way

Blue… white… blue… fluffy white… and blue again…

_I'm doing the right thing.. Right? _The young Atlantean was floating in the sea, looking up in the sky. _… I don't want to see anymore crying faces..Especially on her.. She reminds me so much of you…_

An airplane passed by and distorts the formation of a cloud.

_That's probably it… The reason why I'm so hard headed and out of character when I'm with her... you two actually have the same smile.. And I miss that smile of yours… so much…_ He was now wearing a pained expression on his face. "Say.. Aquagirl.. Do you think I'm doing this for some kind of penance…?" A stinging pain formed in his chest. "Hah.. That's right.. Everything I've been doing ever since that day is for penance.. Just to fill in this guilt I have… I'm so sorry Aquagirl... I'm so sorry…"

The plane has completely vanished from the sky and it now returned to its usual blue and white orchestra.

-x-x-x-

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" A red dark light shone out of a mirror with four thorns protruding at the sides. The half-demoness stared at the black vortex outlined in red.

"I have to do this.. This is the only way.." with that, she entered the dark portal and disappeared.

The lights and the energy it emanated also disappeared but it was able to touch an eerie looking chest lying at the edge of the room. As soon as the girl and the portal disappeared, something inside the chest started to glow and filled the room with a blinding white light.

-x-x-x-

"Dude! This party is gonna be awesome! I'm gonna put clowns, penguins, confetti, fireworks and pyramids! Oh! Oh! Oh! And—!" the young green titan was ecstatic.

"Uhh… Beast Boy.. I don't think putting clowns and penguins is gonna make Rae happy. " Cyborg was starting to worry has he imagines a clown throwing a pie at penguin that's dying of heat because of the pyramid theme.

"Oh, may I suggest we play the Glorka pipes as means of entertainment in the celebration?" Starfire's eyes were sharing the same giddy sparkle the changeling had.

"Star.. I don't think—"

"Yeah! and then well put a sumo wrestling match…" the two party-loving titans went on and on about putting weird acts and objects to the party while the elder titan was having trouble convincing them not to overdo it.

-x-x-x-

Robin was busily typing the daily reports to file in. This has been his usual daily task that helps bring his mind at peace. The feeling of the plastic keys and the clicking sound it makes always made him calm for some reason. But today, neither the plastic, the clicking sound nor the files about criminals put to bars gave him ease. Today was the day he promised the Atlantean to tell the well-kept secret of the West Titan… the story of how the world almost ended. And the memory that his precious team mate, Raven, wishes to forget. When Trigon was destroyed, the five Titans promised never to speak of it. They may only talk about the incident if Raven was the one to open the topic.

_Click click click click…._

The thought of Raven talking about the incident outside the west titan groups made him worried. His fingers were starting to slow down and stumble. He was pressing the wrong keys.

_Click click click click…._

"Aqualad's late… I told him to come here an hour ago…" the boy wonder could no longer concentrate.

_Click… click…cli—bang!_

He bangs his fist on the keyboard.

"Damn… what's taking him so long..?" Robin knew there was something wrong… even though Raven seemed okay for the past few weeks after the training program, he knew there was something bothering her. And the cavern that suddenly disappeared… he knew something bad is going to happen… "Where is–"

_Knock! Knock!_

The masked boy took a deep breath to regain his composure. "Come in.."

The Atlantean slowly entered the room, his face solemn. "Sorry, I'm late… had to clear up some things."

"It's alright… We're all busy. Beast Boy and Starfire are really looking forward on organizing Raven's party. Cyborg's having a hard time reminding them of the budget and Raven's preference… you're coming to the party too, right?"

The Atlantean nodded. "I am."

"That's good to know... so…" the masked wonder's body tensed up. "Can you tell me already.?"

"I'll tell you what I saw in the cavern… but first, tell me about Trigon and what happened when the world almost ended." It looked like the leader had no choice but to go first.

"Alright… it started during Raven's birthday…"

-x-x-x-

In a dimension where chunks of earth float in an infinite space of black and red-dotted stars, a small figure makes its way to its destination. This place, as creepy as it is, is actually quite familiar for this figure. _After all_, the figure thought, _it is my mind._ Her thoughts echoed in the infinite space. _Always found that irritating._

After much walking and time, the girl was nearing her destination. Just a few more feet in front of her lay a large cave in a shape of a skull. Yes, it was one of those cliché doom looking caves that tells passer bys to keep away. But the difference of this cave to that of those clichéd ones is that the skull is that of a bird, and inside this cave one will not find any riches or cursed relic. Inside this cave, is well… you'll find out when the young girl gets there.

"I'm finally here… well… here goes nothing.." the young girl began moving forward, she had already made up her mind when she stepped into the portal to her mind. _This is the only way…_

"Is it really the only way..?" a familiar voice came from behind her. She did not need to turn around to see who it was. The owner is all too familiar to the half-demoness every meditation time, and not to mention she usually listens to this part of her.

"*sigh* I have no choice Intelligence." a Raven look alike wearing a yellow cloak and glasses furrowed her brows with a disapproving look.

"We all know that's not true.. I am.. No I mean.. We are _you _after all." with that, more Raven look alike with different colored robes appeared in front of the real half-demoness. They all had the same disapproving and foreboding look the yellow Raven, called Intelligence.

"I… I.. I think you should go back.. we don't really know if it's going to work." A Raven in a grey reluctantly spoke up.

"Yeah, man! What's the deal! We can get through this problem without having to do _this!_" a Raven in dark green proudly protested. But as brave as that Raven sounded, the look in her eyes when looking at the cave showed nothing but fear.

"We can't… I can't… I have no choice.. you all know that.. you all know that there really is no stopping _him…_" the original Raven was trying to hold back her tears.

"But if you do this…"

"I know.. but it's for the best.. I don't want anything like that happen ever again.. I don't want to be his tool anymore.. _This _is the only way.." the young girl, without looking at her counter parts, began moving . With a downcasted face, the different colored Ravens began disappearing one by one… except one..

A Raven in a dark red robe wore a pretentious smirk. "I'm afraid we can't let you do that Raven.."

"Look! I have no time for thi—" the half-demoness gasped. The dark red Raven suddenly transformed into a monstrous being, in a form of the demon she's trying to escape from… Trigon.

"**We can't let you do that… not yet.. We're too near already..**"

"What are you talking about!" the demon merely smirked and attacked...

W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W

_don't knw when i'll get to update.. i'm leaving home again for the second semester in colloege (did that make sense)... but i'll try to update as soon as i can and get rid of these damn depression.. thanks again guys._


	17. Voices That NeedCommand to Be Followed

_A/N: Hey.. missed u guys..! have a bunch of stuff to do since i'm nearing my thesis already.. whee..! i wonder if i'll graduate..? anywayz. here's part 17 and i noticed a lot of mistakes in the previous chap.. ah well.. hi aquaven11! i missed u. :)_

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**Part 17: **Choices… Voices That Need/Command to Be Followed

"Trigon's back! Why didn't you tell me this earlier! " Robin was trying to stop himself from punching the Atlantean.

"She didn't want you guys to worry…"

"So you think that keeping something so important would help—tch… this isn't going to go anywhere." The masked boy quickly made his way to the door.

"Where are you going? We're not finished talking yet." Robin stopped.

"If you still want to talk, then we'll talk. But I want Raven to be present as well." Aqualad couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I told you that she doesn't want you guys to worry. She also wants to be alone for now… if she finds out that you—"

"You don't know Raven.." the leader's voice was stern. "She… one of the things she hates most is being alone… even though she acts like she doesn't want anyone's company; she actually wants to have someone by her side... As her friend, you should've listened to the words she couldn't say… the true feelings she selfishly hides for herself... And if what you told me was true—then the worst thing to do right now is to leave her alone.." with that, the masked boy left the room and called the others to meet at Raven's room.

The Atlantean clenched his fist as the words of the West leader hung heavily on him… _As her friend I should've_… _I don't know her… that's right… so my decision.. It's wrong again… when will I ever get things right..! _

x-x-x-x

"**Fee Fie Foe Thum! I sense a scared little birdie around!**" the giant demon began destroying the place by blasting dark rays from his eyes. "**If you come out and tell us you're going to stop what you were originally planning then we'll consider letting you out… with minimum injuries of course..**" a twisted grin spread across his face.

"*huff**puff* Shit… why of all times… do you have to come out now.." Raven was hiding behind a rock a good feet away from the giant. Her injuries matched her torn and tattered clothes. Gritting her teeth she tried to focus herself so that she would not black out. "Gotta find a way to get in the cave… he can't do anything once I'm in there, then I'll.."

"**I'm getting tired of this little game of ours… and I don't like it when I'm bored.**" The giant began destroying the surroundings with more force. Flames gushed out of the ground. One pillar of fire flowed near where the half-demoness was hiding, forcing her to come out. A warped smile spread in the demon's face. "**Ahh.. So that's where you've been..**"

Raven stood her ground and stared at the giant demon. Pure hate could be seen from her eyes.

"**I like that look of yours. It perfectly shows your demon heritage. It perfectly shows who you really are.**"

"Shut up! You don't know who I am!

"**Hmm.. maybe. But you don't know who you really are either. Am I correct? Come, I'll show you what splendor you can become.**" The demon spread his arms open to welcome her.

"I'm going.. Not to you, but to that cave and end everything!" Raven dashed towards the demon that was blocking the entrance to the cave behind him.

x-x-x-x

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

"Raven! Open up! We need to talk." The masked boy's request was answered with silence.

"Dude! Are you serious! That crazy demon dad of hers is still alive?" Beast Boy was hysterical when they were told about the coming of Trigon once again.

"Yeah man. Are you sure about it? Last time I remembered Raven toasted that guy to kingdom come."

"Cyborg is right. I am also sure that I saw the demon Trigon's defeat against Raven… and surely our dear Raven would've told us about her father's return once more.." Starfire placed a comforting hand on her leader's shoulder. "Please try to come down.. I'm sure she does not like it when we bang so noisily on her door. Let me knock." The Tamaranean floated slowly near the door and held up her curled hand to knock gent—

_BANG! THUMP!_

The door fell (rather noisily) with just one "knock" from the Tamaranean.

"Nice one Star." The green titan commented.

"Why do I feel like its déjà vu when I saw the door fall down…?" the elder titan added.

"Oops.. Teehee.." the red-head sheepishly smiled. "I am sorry for knocking the door to much Raven!... Raven?" there was no (fits of dark auras of anger) that answered. Though the lights in the room were left on, an eerie type of darkness covered the room. Strange smiling and frowning masks, figurines of unknown creatures, bookcases carrying ancient books, a vanity table that doesn't seem to be used much and a giant four-poster bed could be seen. The four cautiously entered the dark bird's room. No sign of the half-demoness could be found.

"This place is creepier than I remembered.." the changeling felt a shiver on his spine as he unconsciously hugged himself.

"Yeah… nothing seems to have change the last time we went here BB.." Cyborg slightly raised his right hand "I'm gonna do a quick scan of the room." A red light flashed out of his wrist and scanned the whole room.

"Well?" the masked leader asked rather impatiently.

"Scanner says she's just here in the room… more specifically.." the elder titan double checks his scanner before pointing at… "There…"

The other three followed the direction of his pointing finger and saw not Raven, but an ominous hand mirror lying on the floor; it had four protruding thorns around it. When Beast Boy saw the familiar mirror he couldn't help but flinch and scream.

"What's the matter Beast Boy?" Starfire asked with furrowed brows.

"It's.. It's that scary mirror that suddenly grabs you and takes you to Raven's head!" the changeling squealed.

"You mean this is the meditation mirror that Raven uses… so she's currently in there?" Robin asked reassuringly.

"Yeah.. Seems like it. Since we know she's just here let's just get out and not—what are you doing!" the masked leader picked the mirror up on the floor. Beast Boy and Cyborg were readying themselves for the dark giant hand to come out to snatch their leader. Starfire, not really sure what the other two were doing, just followed suit, then…

"Uhhh…"

Nothing happened.

"How do you guys make this thing work?" the masked boy frustratingly shook the mirror.

"Dude! I don't get it, last time you could get sucked in there even if you just look at it!" the changeling snatched the mirror from the leader's hands and began inspecting it. "Maybe it's busted?"

"It's not as you say… 'Busted.' The young lady merely blocked the portal so that no one would disturb her from what she's currently doing." A suave voiced answered.

"Who's there!" Robin instantly got his bo staff ready and scanned their surroundings.

"Who I am is not as important as what's happening in the young lady's mind. And I suggest you listen to what I say first, before you start swinging that stick of yours." The voice answered. "The young lady, Raven, entered her mind to do something.. As to what she's exactly planning, I cannot answer, but let me tell you: The endeavor of hers might just involve erasing herself from this world." The four Titans' eyes opened wide with horror and surprise.

"What are you talking about!" Robin tried to follow the direction of the voice.

"I really don't like repeating myself. I suggest you try to get inside her mind first. Trying to find out my location and identity should be only secondary, yes?" the voice had a bored tinge now.

"Fine." The mask boy lowered his staff. "Can you tell us how to get in?"

"Finally.." the voice said sarcastically. "I'm afraid there aren't any of you here that are able to destroy the barrier. Since it is protected by very strong magic.."

"Wha! So you expect us to just let you off with an answer like that!" the changeling exclaimed.

"Of course not." The voice quickly retorted. "If you would be as so kind as to let me finish first." The voice cleared its throat before continuing. "Yes.. There really aren't any of you present _in _the room to destroy the barrier, however... You there! The one hanging around just outside the room, you'll do." The four immediately turned around and saw the Atlantean outside the door entrance.

"Aqualad?" the all exclaimed.

"Aqualad? Is that your name boy..?" the voice queried.

"Yes, that's right." The blue boy coldly answered.

"Hmph... How droll." The voice sounded as uninterested as before. "But we could still use you to break the barrier."

"Huh? Wait. How's _he_ supposed to break the barrier made of magic?"

"Ah, Mr. Metal man. I see that none of you know. Isn't that interesting?"

"Know what exactly..?" Starfire politely asked.

"Should we tell them, _Akuwallaad..?" _The voice let its tongue lazily roll around as he said the Atlantean's name.

"You may do as you please. It doesn't concern me. But I want you to help me break the barrier first." His voice was still cold.

"Hmm.. I see that you're actually more interesting than your name. Very well. We'll just leave them to contemplate on that matter for a while then."

"Hey!" Beast Boy tried to cut in the two's conversation but failed.

"What am I suppose to do?"

"Get the mirror from the small green one, first." The voice demanded. The Atlantean silently followed and took the mirror.

"And then..?"

"You just have to stand there. I'm going to use your body and channel out your power towards the barrier." The voice started chanting incomprehensible words. A dark light shot out from the dark corners of the room and hit the aquatic prince.

"GAAH!" an excruciating pain soared across the prince's body as violet and midnight blue lights came out and surrounded his body.

"Stop screaming like a girl. You're ruining my concentration." The voice commanded as stronger dark rays shot through the Atlantean. The others were about to stop them when suddenly they saw the mirror flashing violently, red and aubergine lights. Soon the whole room was filled with the strange light.

"Make sure you bring the young lady in one piece now. It's the least you peons can do since I helped you out." That was the last thing the five Titans heard as they felt themselves being sucked into a vacuum.

x-x-x-x

Darkness.

"Wa..ke…up…"

Beast Boy thought he heard something.

"Wake…up…"

Wait.. he _did _hear something.

"Beast Boy! Wake up! We have no time!"

The changeling suddenly woke up. The first thing he saw as he opened his eyes was the dark sky with red stars covering it, then his friends who were already up and awake, and then…

"Raven?"

The young girl in the yellow cloak adjusted her glasses before answering. "Not quite. But I'm afraid introductions will have to wait first. You people must stop those two."

"Huh? What? Two? Who?" Beast Boy slowly got up and rattled his head.

"Rage and Raven… they're currently battling at the far reaches of Nevermore."

"Rage? You mean the little girl in red who changes into Trigon?" Cyborg queried.

"Yes... and I must ask you to stop both of them… because if either of them wins, doom will still ensue."

"What do you mean?" the masked boy asked with worried eyes.

"Well.. If Rage wins, I'm afraid she's planning to do something terrible to Raven.. And if Raven wins… she will continue her plan on destroying Nevermore."

"Wait! Hold on! If Rae is gonna destroy Nevermore.. then.." the changeling frowned.

"That's right. If she destroys Nevermore, then she will be destroying her mind and ultimately herself. So please hurry."

"Can you take us there?" the Atlantean asked.

"Yes. I'll show you the way."

* * *

_end of chap.. sorry if it's not that good. lots of dramas to read and memorizing the philippine map and a bunch of other stuff.. thesis proposal and topics... man, i'm getting old. ciao guys. _


	18. Death Knell: The Path Raven Followed

_chap 18 up earlier than expected coz well... hahaha.. here you go Cori the-freak-of-nature.. :) (please don't eat me!) hahaha. just kidding. thanks for pushing me to write today and thanks to crazyred717 as well for pointing out the anger-rage name thing.. i didn't know, since they really didn't introduce themselves well enough in the show... and i tend to forget things really fast... i'm already having a hard time writing this story coz my laptop got reformat... lil' bro destroyed the OS... so all my files got lost along with the stories i was writing.. i could never get my trail of thought straight becoz of that. haha. well.. anywayz... here's chappy 18!_

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**Part 18: **Death Knell… The Path Raven Followed

"Can you tell me again how Rae plans on… destroying herself?" the changeling once again asked. It's not that he doesn't understand the full situation, mind you, but because he just doesn't understand why the young half-demoness would do such a thing. The yellow clad Raven, understood this of course, so she did not mind explaining once more. They still had a long way before they reach the other end of Nevermore anyway.

"She plans on entering The Cave."

"Right. I get that part. But what I don't get is _how_ she's gonna destroy her head by entering a cave."

"Well," she wearingly adjusted her glasses, "this cave contains the Death Knell..."

"A bell?" Cyborg suddenly interjected.

"Not exactly… Actually.. I'm not very sure as well. None of us here knows what the Death Knell really looks like since we have never really seen it for ourselves. We just call it that because if Raven ever decided to use it then it's total doom and destruction for all of us here."

"How quaint of Raven." The Atlantean softly remarked.

"Yes… well… She really did love old-fashioned melancholic themes in literature.. But I think she likes cross stitching more than reading though." The young girl once again readjusted her glasses.

"Hold up! Rae does cross stitching!" the changeling eyes widened with astonishment.

The yellow girl, not really finding it surprising, merely answered "Yes."

"How come I never saw her do that..?" the green titan placed two fingers thoughtfully on his forehead. "Wait… Right." he lifted his arms in exasperation and frowned.

"There's still a lot about Rae that we don't know even after all this time, huh?" the mechanoid also felt a little frustration and sadness with this fact.

"Yes, and it distresses me so to know that there's nothing we can do much to alleviate such difficulty. A large amount of time is needed for our dear Raven to open herself to us." The Tamaranean princess shared the mutual expression her companions were wearing.

"Yeah… but at least we know she's trying her best to open up to us. In her own way and pace." The West leader gave a reassuring smile to his companions.

"Yeah.. That's right. She does.." the elder titan copied the smile of his leader.

"So we should also try our best to remind her that she's never alone, then." The heavy atmosphere that surrounded the group quickly disappeared thanks to the boy wonders words. The yellow-robed Raven couldn't help but feel a bit of relief knowing that the half-demoness had met and befriended such great people. Everyone now had a smile on their faces and a strong determination to bring the young girl back. Well.. Everyone except one.

The young Atlantean did not say anything the rest of the way. With a solemn face, he was in deep thought.

"We're here..." the yellow Raven announced. Up ahead, the five Titans could see fires and explosions. "I'm sorry, but I can't come with you any further. Raven pushes us away when we get near her so…" her voice was resigned.

"It's alright." The masked boy gave her a grin.

"Yes, we will be sure to help her." The red-head placed a comforting hand on the yellow girl's shoulder and smiled as well.

"Thank you." With a weak grin, the yellow Raven slowly disappeared in front of the Titans.

_BOOM! CRASH! _

Smoke and debris covered the whole place as the earth beneath the titans trembled violently.

"**Bwhahahahahahahahaha!**" the giant demon's form could be seen through the smoke. His four eyes, glowing red.

"Looks like big bad daddy's there." Beast Boy immediately changed into a Lion.

"Yeah, and he's asking for a whole lot of whoopin.'" Cyborg changed his hand into a cannon and began charging it. A familiar dark energy flashed by the scene and hit the demon. A small figure was floating a few feet away from Trigon.

"Raven…" Robin with teeth gritting, quickly got his staff out. "Titans go!"

x-x-x-x

_Bam!_

Raven blasted her dark aura towards the towering demon but it seemed that all her attacks were to no avail. The giant monster only sustained small bruises while she was already bleeding to death.

"**Aren't you already tired with this? Your attacks are starting to repeat.**" The demon, jaded, yawned with boredom. The half-demoness did not reply and blasted her powers once more at him. Nothing new happened and the demon was now beginning to get irritated.

"**You never learn do you? I see that you still need a bit more beating until you'll actually start listening.**" The demon raised his hands, red rope-like auras shot out of his fingers and coiled around the young girl. Like boa constrictors, the auras slowly tightened their hold. Raven was slowly losing consciousness, the blood around her body found no more passage but the open wounds she had. Her skin was as white as it had ever been but the red liquid dripping all over her body created a more horrific beauty.

The demon held a ghastly grin. "**Now now.. You can't go to sleep yet. I'm still not done with you.**" The demon raised his hands and made a violent slamming motion. The ropes followed and with a lashing movement the young girl smashed into the ground with brute force. If it weren't for the massive blood loss she had, her nerves would've been working better and she would've felt the full extent of the pain she was experiencing.

"**You're cheating.**" The demon frowned and was planning on sending a pillar of fire when he suddenly got hit by a blue ray. "**Graahh!**"

"Eat plasma, ugly!" Cyborg braced himself and the power of his cannon increased. The demon, slowly backing away, tried to block the laser with his hands. The boy wonder immediately took out his most explosive bombs and threw it at the demon while Beast Boy, in pterodactyl form, dove toward the demon and changed into a T-Rex as soon as he was near him and bit his right hand. Starfire let out a barrage of Starbolts as well. The demon let out a hideous growl.

Aqualad made his way towards the half-demoness who was lying on the ruined ground.

x-x-x-x

Raven could no longer feel half of her body. She was fading in and out of consciousness.

"Raven!" he carefully raised carried the girl in his arms. "Raven… can you hear me..? Are you awake..?" The boy bit his lower lip in worry. The boy held her closer as he caressed her. "Please... answer me." He slowly whispered.

Raven, in mid-consciousness, felt a soothing warmth enveloping her. Her whole body was screaming in pain but the security she felt from the warmth pacified the ache she was feeling. Her senses were slowly coming back as she heard a voice that she thought she would never hear again.

"Raven… Please.. Wake up." The voice was weak and she thought she could a small sob.

"I… is that… you..?" she was straining in trying to let her voice out. She was being crushed and choked after all. Aqualad felt alleviated as soon as he heard the weak but still monotonous voice of the goth girl.

"Yeah… if I'm who you think I am.. Then it's me." He grinned although the girl still had her eyes closed. "Hold still for a second.. Let's do something about those wounds of yours." He gently laid the girl on the ground. Bringing his hand near his mouth, the Atlantean bit his thumb until fresh blood trickled down. He placed his bleeding finger on top of the goth girl and chanted familiar, unintelligible words. As he chanted, his eyes started glowing violet and midnight blue, the blood trickling down also began glowing the same color and slithered along the young girl's body. The wounds that the enchanted blood traced by quickly healed.

The half-demoness was surprised when she felt the pain in her body slowly subside. She could now move her hands and feet without cringing and her head was no longer throbbing as much. When she opened her eyes, she saw that her guess was right.

"Aqualad…" she was about to give the boy a witty remark when she saw something wrong with the Atlantean. His face, she noticed, was pale and his veins were very visible as well. It seemed as if something was draining him. The boy quickly took notice of this and looked away.

"Ah.. It's good to see that you can finally open your eyes." His voice was faltering. The young girl slowly sat up so that she could see the boy better.

"Aquald, what happened? Why are you—?" The boy placed a finger on her lips. His hand was deathly cold.

"It should be pretty obvious why we're here." He told her while looking at the direction of the others fighting Trigon- like being. "You really shouldn't do stupid and rash things. Everyone's worried about you." The boy released his finger on her lips and stood up, making sure that she does not see his face.

"How did you guys get here?"

"I also wonder about that.. It seems like you have a stalker in your room. Anyway, we can talk about that later. You just stay here and watch us teach that overgrown tomato a lesson or two." The Atlantean left without giving the girl a chance to speak. She noticed that the boy was wobbling a bit when he was running towards the others. She inspected herself and noticed that her heavy wounds now look like small scrapes.

"What did you exactly do..?" the girl shook her head and decided to dismiss it. _I've already decided… I can't turn back now. I'm sorry.. Even if you guys did come here, there's nothing you can do to change my mind… _the goth girl slowly got up. Even though her wounds were healed, she still felt a bit numb. After a last look at her friends she slowly made her way to The Cave.

x-x-x-x

"**You annoying insects! Do you honestly believe you can defeat me!**" the demon growled, his eyes burning with hatred and rage.

"Hey, we did it once and we can always do it again!" the mechanoid cockily declared as he blasted his cannon once again.

"Yeah! I'll even do it a hundred times! You're gonna pay for hurting Raven!" Beast Boy was apparently very pissed off at the giant demon for cruelly assaulting the beloved dark bird.

"You shall pay dearly for doing such horrible things to our dear Raven!" Starfire barked.

"Nobody hurts our friends." Robin stated. "Beast Boy!" the changeling instantly turned into an albatross and carried his leader. Like a bomb, Robin dropped down from above and slammed his bo staff on the demons head. The young titan also did not soften on his attack and turned into a rhino and rammed himself at the demon. The Tamaranean wanted the demon to feel the full force of her anger towards him and opted to punch and slap him with her hands.

"Having fun?" Cyborg looked to his left and saw the Altantean.

"Hell yeah!" Cyborg with a happy smile began blasting his cannon like a little child. "How's Rae? You shouldn't have left her alone."

"She'll be fine…" the Atlantean answered. "And… I'm not suited to be the one beside her right now."

"What?" the two were cut from their conversation as hundreds of pillars of fire shot out from the ground. Robin, Starfire and Beast Boy were suddenly thrown down as well.

"Argh.! Where did this guy get his strength all of a sudden?" the boy wonder cursed.

"That dude's a monster!" the changeling screamed.

"Beast Boy... He's a demon." The elder titan explained.

"Oh.. Right…"

"**This has gone long enough! I grow tired and vexed with these games! I seek Raven and if you fools wish to oppose me then…**" the whole earth began to shake and crack. The Titans ran and tried their best not to fall down in the opening earth. "**Death to all.**"

The floating earth they were standing on was slowly crumbling down and was replaced by molten lava. There was nothing the others could do but hope for a miracle.

"**Bwahahahaha! You shall all learn pai—**" the demon gasped and started choking. He held his throat with his hands and fell down on his knees. The lava slowly receded and the earth stopped shaking. "**NO! How could this be..?**" the demon started to shrink and in his place a Raven in a dark-red cloak was on her knees, her eyes wide open with shock. "She couldn't have… the Death Knell.." with no warning, the dark-red Raven disappeared.

The Titans did not have time to celebrate their victory for the last words of the red clad girl told them of the events to follow as they turned and looked at The Cave.

"RAVEN!"

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_hmmm... wonder what's gonna happen next..? wait... i'm suppose to know that coz i'm the writer.. err... ehh, we'll figure that out. it's already 12 am here guys and someone's been attacking my backyard in backyard monsters.. grr... must have vengeance before sleeping! oh, right. and i have to dream about what's gonna happen next here and pray for my dad's (and my other family member's) well being... see ya guys.!_


	19. Important Things… Things That Matter

_Here's the update. Hi aquaven11! How have you been..? th_anks for sticking to the story even though you're now on the Total Drama Island area. I actually watched the first few episodes of season one and it was pretty funny.. anyway, here's the next chap.

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**Part 19: **Important Things… Things That Matter

The young Titans rushed towards The Cave. The ground below their feet started to crumble and disappear as the red stars in the sky began an orchestra of supernovas.

"Don't tell me Raven got inside the cave and…" Cyborg couldn't finish his sentence.

"She couldn't have! She knows that we went here to get her back right?" Beast Boy furiously shook his head in disbelief as he followed the mechanoid's thoughts.

"I am confused. How's she able to walk after sustaining such injuries?" Starfire wondered as they sped fast their way.

The young Atlantean bit his lip as the Tamaranean asked this. He couldn't tell the others what he had done. He didn't have the strength or courage. He began cursing himself silently over and over again.

"Was she conscious when you found her Aqualad?" the masked leader asked.

"She…" Aqualad looked down at the ground and with a silent curse, he charged into the cave, leaving the others behind.

"Aqualad!"

"What's wrong with him..?" the young changeling grunted and instantly turned into a cheetah and went ahead as well.

x-x-x-x

Beast Boy was gaining speed and he was already beside the Atlantean, together they went inside the cave. They both braced themselves (mentally, physically and emotionally) as they already had scary mental pictures of what the inside of the cave would look like. With brave hearts they stepped out of the sunlight and into the.. Titans Tower?

"What the? Did we enter the exit?" Beast Boy was shocked to see that they were suddenly in the common room of the West Titan's tower.

"No.." The Atlantean, without looking at the green titan, answered sternly. "This is still the cave. Raven must have designed it like this…"

"Oh.. hey! Where are you going?" the Atlantean was already at the door exiting the common room.

"Isn't it obvious..?" he coldly replied.

"Aren't you gonna wait for the others?" the Atlantean did not respond and went out of the room. "Man! What's wrong with you!" the changeling quickly followed and exited the room as well.

The two walked silently side by side. The air around them was tense and it was obvious that both of them did not want each other's company. As they were moving along the corridors, passing by numerous doors, it was the first time that Beast Boy noticed how huge the tower was. He glanced at the aquatic prince, checking if he was planning on checking any of the doors. Raven was bound to be in one of these, he thought. So as soon as he got close to a door, he opened it. His eyes grew wide as the door led to the middle of space and there was a star exploding. Before the explosion got near, the young titan immediately slammed the door shut.

"Freaky." was all the changeling could say.

"That's the wrong door.." the prince remarked. "We need to go up to Raven's room."

"How do _you _know?" the changeling raised a suspicious brow.

"Call it… intuition.." with that, they continued.

The way to the half-demoness' room was longer than the two expected as the stairs and elevators would bring them to a different location. Beast Boy didn't like the silence as they trekked their way around the tower and he was beginning to worry about the others, which is why it led him to ask the Atlantean.

"Dude. Can you at least tell me what happened when you left Rae?"

"She…" the young prince slightly hesitated. "Was bleeding..Pretty bad.. So I applied—first aid.."

"You know you could've told the others instead of just rushing out like that. You're acting like you're running away from something." The young changeling flailed his arms in frustration.

"…." Aqualad stared at the ground. "Maybe…. You're actually sharper than I thought." The two looked at each other and the Atlantean gave the young titan a weak smile.

"Dude.. Why are you—"

"Penance." The prince immediately answered. "I have to answer for my actions and set things right… Ah, here we are." The two now stood in front of the door with an engraving on it that read _Raven._

"That was fast." The young titan remarked although he actually found the journey quite long. "For a cave that's suppose to hold something important the security here isn't all that great." The changeling reached for the door and…

_Zap!_

"Yaaaa!"

_Thump!_

Beast Boy was suddenly shocked by an unknown force when he touched the door. The poor boy was sent flying to the other side.

"You were saying?"

"Aww man! Don't tell me that's one of those barrier things again!" the changeling immediately got back on his feet.

"It appears to be.. And it's a whole lot stronger than the last one." The Atlantean frowned.

"Crap! How are we supposed to get in now? "

"Maybe if I…" the aquatic prince placed his hands near door and began chanting. A small light of midnight blue and violet shone out of the Atlantean's hands. The door began to resonate, but the barrier was too strong and it spat back the energy the prince gave. He got blasted back just like the changeling before. Beast Boy quickly comes to his side.

"What was that! That looked like the same thing back when—"

"Rargh!" the prince slammed his fists on the floor. His scream echoed throughout the empty halls. "It's still not enough…"

The Atlantean felt frustrated.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance." A familiar suave voice echoed around the hall.

"What the!" the changeling began checking the surroundings but could see no one but him and the Atlantean.

"No point in looking for me since I'm not here… Well, physically." The voice still carried the same bored tone.

"Just who the hell are you!" the changeling growled.

"Again with pointless questions..?"

"Please.. Help me get through the barrier.. I beg you.." the prince got down on his knees, his voice was weak.

"Hmm… To grovel so easily. I don't know if I should be pleased or annoyed."

"Please! Raven.. She.." the prince tried his best to fight back the tears and anger he was feeling.

"All right. But do put it in mind that I'm doing this not because of your tasteless begging." The voice answered. "Stand up and get near the door again." Aqualad followed once again, the orders of the voice. "Do what you did before." the Atlantean again, positioned himself and then the voice chanted the familiar chant. The voice echoed everywhere and the familiar dark light struck the young prince.

"Raaaagghhh!" Veins were popping out at every corner of the Atlanteans face and body.. His eyes were turning white underneath midnight blue and violet aura that shone out.

"The barrier's too strong." The voice gave a small grunt. "You cannot break it with this level of power you posses."

"No… not yet… I can still…" the Atlantean pleaded.

"Stubborn…" the voice sounded slightly annoyed. "There's always another way you know.." the voice chanted again and stronger rays of light filled the room. Aqualad began to pass through the door.

"Aqualad!" The changeling tried to grab his friend but instead got shocked again.

"You can't get in there…" the voice told the young titan. "I was only able to force the boy inside the room.. Her barrier.. Her power… So _very_ alluring." The voice's presence faded.

"Beast Boy!" it was the voice of the boy wonder. The others had finally caught up.

"What happened?" the elder titan queried.

"Aqualad… and that stupid voice.. He… got inside the room somehow.." the young titan's body ached. The others looked at the door their comrade was talking about and saw that it was the goth girl's. Starfire, with much determination on her face neared the door and tried to punch it. Alas the result was still the same. She got shocked and knocked down.

"There's no use… The only thing we can do is wait and hope that Aqualad can save Raven." Beast Boy tried to hold back a bark as he gritted his teeth. It's not that he didn't trust the young Atlantean, just didn't like the fact that he could do nothing to help Raven.

x-x-x-x

Aqualad passed through door and the first thing he saw was a cocoon like thing in the middle of the room, the core of the sheath spread itself all throughout the room by with its web-like appendages. The boy made his way to the cocoon and could feel Raven's presence inside it.

"Raven.. Why..?" the boy felt sick, he knew that there's was no longer any way to save the young girl. "No good. She's already halfway— no. More than halfway. Then there's no.." he gritted his teeth. "I have to try. I won't let anything like that happen again.. I have to save her." The boy began looking around the room, seeking any sharp object to assist him. He spots a hand mirror that bared the same design of the half-demoness' mirror. Using one of the protruding horns stuck on the mirror, he stabs his palm. His hands above the cocoon and with his eyes closed, he began chanting the familiar words he used when he healed the young girl. A strong light of midnight blue and violet oozed out of the Atlantean's palm. It covered the cocoon and it reacted by lashing out red and aubergine lights. The boy grunted and tried to ignore the intense heat and pain. His hands go through the cocoon.

_Raven_

x-x-x-x

"There's something going on with that creepy voice! We need to find out who it is!" Beast Boy was feeling a bit better now.

"I agree. But I think we also need to talk to Aqualad as well." The masked leader was in his "thinking" position. Then, he frowned. "It seems.. that raven is not the only person that's hiding things from us."

"Yeah.. And I'm worried." The elder titan shared the same sentiments of his leader.

"Dammit! Stupid barrier! If only we can get through it! I want to know what's going on in there and help!" the changeling was quite unsettled.

"Calm down Beast Boy. I know that you're worried about Raven.. I know how important she is to you." The masked leader assured.

"You actually have no idea _how _important she is to me Robin." The young titan's body was slightly shaking. "You also don't know how mad I am for not doing anything to help her right now!" changing into a rhino the changeling charged at the door. The others tried their best to hold down the raging green rhino.

"Calm down BB!" Cyborg screamed.

"Yes! Nothing will be solved if you'll recklessly bash yourself at the door." The Tamaranean was wondering where this small child got such power from.

The changeling did not heed their pleas and persisted, just when they were about to lose their grip, the door to the goth girl's room flashed. The familiar colors of light covered them.

"Not again.." the elder titan groaned.

x-x-x-x

When the others woke up they saw that they were back in Raven's room. They would've thought that they all had just dreamed of the events because they just ate too much of Beast Boy's tofu meal. But when they saw the figure of the Atlantean standing in front of the four poster bed, they knew better to think than to think it was a silly dream. When they got to their feet they immediately went to him and saw the petite figure on the bed—Raven.

"Rae!" Beast Boy practically screamed and cried with relief. Everyone shared the same look of relief except for Aqualad.

"You did it!" the happy mechanoid slapped the Atlantean's back.

"Great job!" everyone was about to celebrate when—

"Please!" the others stared at the aquatic prince. "I.. failed." They were dumbfounded. How can the young boy say something like that when the half-demoness was right in front of them sleeping?

"What are you talking about! Raven's right there! Can't you see her lying there!" the changeling was irritated.

"She.. _That _isn't Raven.. That's just her—"as small groan coming from the bed stopped the Atlantean. Everyone gasped. It seemed that the young girl was waking up. The changeling went near her.

"Hey Rae. How are you feeling?" his voice was soft and caring, but the girl did not respond. "Rae?"

The figure in the bed turned around and everyone in the room (except the Atlantean) could not believe what they saw.. .they didn't want to believe… the eyes of the young girl, Raven, was pure white. They were empty and reflected like a mirror; no soul or sign of life could be felt. The chakra on her forehead, also, was gone.

"Raven! What's wrong?" Beast Boy held her shoulders. Tears were starting to form in his eyes.

"That's not really, fully Raven.. I was only able to get back part of her.. The one lying on the bed right now is only an empty vessel. Raven.. Her soul… I couldn't save her." The Atlantean wanted to kill himself a hundred times over. He wasn't able to save her, even though he said he would. He failed… again..

Silence filled the room. No one spoke or moved. They didn't know what to do. Looking at the person lying on the bed that looked like Raven but was not fully Raven tormented them. A shell. An empty vessel— that did not show the shine and warmth that the young goth girl showed.

"I… I'll.." the Atlantean spoke but—

"You! This is your fault!" the green titan was in a fit of rage he grabbed the Atlantean and punched him with all his might. The impact, as the aquatic prince felt, was like being hit by a truck as he felt his jaw crack.

"Beast Boy!" the others quickly restrained their mourning friend.

"Don't!" Aqualad slowly got up. "He's right… it's my fault.. Everything.. But I'll fix it."

"Fix it! That's what you told me last time! Look at what happened!" the young titan bawled in disgust.

"That.. I… I'll do it right this time. There's nothing else I can do but to keep on trying.." the boy looked away. He knew he was just asking too much form them, to trust him when he had already visibly failed. And the price…. The price was too high. But he did not want to back down now. There was nothing else for him to do.

"And how do you propose to do that!"

The Atlantean, with resolute eyes, looked at his comrades. "By asking."

It was already night. The stars of Earth shone brightly in the sky. Their pale white color could be perfectly reflected by the empty vessel of Raven.

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_I'm really sorry if the story is not as funny as it's supposed to be. Lot of sad things have been happening in my life so I guess it's sorta reflecting in the flow of the story… I'll try to make things right.. hopefully._


	20. The Voice: Raven's Partner

_hey guys. i apologize for the very long delay.. it's been pretty tough these past few months.. my just dad died last December and i wasn't in the mood to write.. in fact, i wanted to stop writing and everything else all together... stupid depressions get the best of me everytime these days. how i was able to write this chapter i have no idea. i'll try my best to finish this story and the other stories. have fun reading thoung it's kinda short._

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**Part 20: **The Voice… Raven's "Partner"

"I should be the one watching Raven! Why in the hell does he get to stay with her? We shouldn't be following that bastard's orders!" The changeling's voice echoed throughout the hallway. His eyes were filled with resentment and his face contorted with rage as he spoke. His comrades could only stare and frown at him. It's not because they thought the young titan was being unreasonable. In fact, they thought, he seemed to be the one with the sanest mind among the group. Why, indeed, did they agree to follow Aqualad's request without refuting or questioning him? His actions of late, after all, were questionable; an enigmatic air had surrounded the young prince so much that he seemed more suspicious than this voice they're trying to track down. So why indeed, grant the request of this person, who was now turning into a total stranger to them?

Perhaps.. The answer, the masked leader thought was that.. "He's struggling…"

"What!" the young titan's voice was mocking.

"I really can't explain it Beast Boy.. I'm sorry if it looks as if we're being apathetic towards your feelings right now. But, you see, when Aqualad asked us to do this. Well.. there was something I saw in his eyes.. It was like they were pleading. And that if we didn't do what he asked of us, I felt that we would be losing another friend. I'm sorry." The masked leader frowned. He knew that that flimsy explanation wouldn't be enough to sate the changeling's new found anger towards the Atlantean. But that was truly what the masked boy felt.

Starfire, noticing the troubled look of her leader, added, "I too felt it Beast Boy. There is an inner struggle that is happening to our friend. Though it may seem unfair, but it is a fact that Aqualad did nothing wrong. He tried his best to save Raven."

"Yeah and he failed!" the boy barked defensively.

The Tamaranean with caring eyes gave him a soft smile, "Yes. But that doesn't mean it's the end. He was able to save a part of Raven… and Aqualad has not given up in saving her. None of us has given up in saving her, and that shows hope. And hope brings possibilities, and one of these possibilities could be the miracle to save our dear Raven. But in order to bring about this miracle we must trust one another. So please Beast Boy.. hold your anger, it will do no good in trying to save our friend." The green titan felt dirty. Shame beheld his face as he realized what the red-head said was true. The boy furrowed his brows and with a renewed conviction, he walked with his head held high.

"That's right.. I can teach that haughty bastard a thing or two after we save Raven." The Tamaranean and masked leader felt relieved as they heard this.

"Uhhh.. guys.. it's great that BB's not mad and all but… how are we supposed to find that stupid voice? I mean.. it is just a voice.? Cyborg delicately interjected. The four titans immediately stopped walking.

"Oh yeah.." the changeling began thinking.

"Well… Aqualad did say that the voice is just somewhere here in the tower. So I guess we just have to look for something different in the tower." The masked boy answered.

"This is stupid." The changeling's new found conviction instantly vanished.

x-x-x-x-x-x

The young aquatic prince couldn't help but laugh at himself as he took in the room's gloomy atmosphere and smiled. _How ironic, _he thought, _that this desolated atmosphere would make me smile. I guess I can't help it. _He turned and looked at the petite figure lying on the bed. _It reminds me of you and your gloomy face. It reminds me of you and your deadpan voice. It reminds me of you and that secret smile of yours…How can't I smile? _The Atlantean's smile was quickly replaced by a frown when he saw the young girl's empty eyes.

"Don't worry Raven.." he softly spoke, " We'll get you back.." the boy began scanning the room from top to bottom, from left to right, he was looking for that feint energy. He knew that that person they were looking for was just somewhere here. In fact, he had felt this energy for a long time already but just dismissed it since he thought it was harmless. Apparently it wasn't harmless and that the owner of this power is very familiar with Raven, but he didn't want his comrades to be distressed by this fact. Another round of scanning and he stopped his gaze on an old chest hiding in a corner of the room. _That's the one. _The aquatic boy slowly approached the rustic chest; he could feel that familiar energy. Strangely enough, the chest was left unlocked, as if it was left this way, and it's the contents had been permanently removed and forgotten in another time. This, of course, is slightly untrue since the chest contained something and for what it is, the boy found out as he opened it.

The only occupant, an old white book with intricate and queer engravings lied there at the bottom of the chest. Though it was apparent that the book carried much age with it, there was a peculiar aura of vigor that enveloped it. It was, perhaps, the overflowing energy that leaked out of the book that gave it the peculiar youth, but that did not matter to the Atlantean. It wasn't the power that interested him; it was the owner of this power. Making a small wound on his thumb by biting it, he trickled the red liquid onto the book and began chanting. Within moments, there was a flash of violet and midnight blue light and the boy disappeared.

x-x-x-x-x

"Oh yes! I found it! I found it!"

"What is it Cyborg! Did you find anything unusual?" the masked boy and the others hurriedly circled the mechanoid.

"Unusual! No man! I found something better!" the elder titan exclaimed as he raised his find, "I found the remote!" the remote glistened. The others stared menacingly at the mechanoid.

"What?"

"CYBORG!"

x-x-x-x-x

Within an instance the Atlantean found himself out of the goth girl's room and into the realm of the mysterious voice. At first glance, it looked exactly like Nevermore. Deserts and barren mountains spread across the entire horizon and not a sign of life could be found. But the sky. The sky was surprisingly bright with orange, blue and pink colors beautifully blending together. It seemed like night would soon be coming as the two suns looked ready to sink into the horizon. The boy took a deep breath and began walking. It did not take him too long when suddenly shadows started to surround him. The boy readied himself, but was quickly taken aback when the shadows took full form. All around him, were two figures that looked exactly alike. An old man and a younger looking man with silver-white hair were floating in mid-air, playing a game of chess.

"Now isn't this interesting." The familiar bored suave voice resonated as the multiple figures continued on with their game.

"Well, you don't sound so interested." The Atlantean answered indifferently.

"Hmm.. but of course, who would be so interested with a smelly fish after all..?" the voice calmly retorted.

"You don't smell so wonderful yourself."

"Ohh.. so you're a clownfish. Funny." The voice sounded more bored than ever.

"You can speculate all you want what kind of fish I am. But what exactly _are you?_" the Atlantean barked.

"Wouldn't you like to know..?" the voice gave out a mocking snort. "How about this…" try finding me in this illusion and I might properly introduce myself."

"Fair enough." The boy smiled and began looking at the chess playing illusions. Without even looking twice, he slowly made his way to a rock formation that stretched itself up to the endless sky. There, the old man and man with silver-white hair were also playing chess. The boy gave out a mocking triumphant smile. "Would you mind introducing yourself, now?"

The images instantly dissipated and the only pair that remained was the one the Atlantean was looking at. The man with silver-white hair slowly looked at the boy and stood up. The Atlantean could feel a hint of anger and disappointment from the man.

"Good show.. A bit disappointing, but good show.." The sliver-white haired man half-heartedly complimented.

"It's not all that hard. I can _smell _you a mile away." The Atlantean coolly answered.

"I see." The aquatic boy almost flinched as the man gave him a murderous glare, luckily he was still able to keep his composure. "I guess I'll have to introduce myself now. Hello Nemo. I'm Malchoir, Raven's…mate." An evil smiled spread across the man's face as he saw the Atlantean's reaction. "Now, isn't it a pleasure to meet me..?"

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i didn't exaclty edit this so i apologize if there's anything wrong with my writing. if you guys still want me to continue this story just tell me.. maybe you guys are might be fed up with waiting for the freaking updates and gave up on this story already. hahaha.. good night.


	21. Retrieving a Soul and Restoring a Heart

_hi guys! sorry for not updating soon enough... had a lot of stuff to do. anywayz... here's chapter 21! thanks so much for the support. :D alittlecrazy- i'm glad that you like the story. knowing there are people having fun with my story always makes my day. :) crazynerd- thanks. :) will continue to write! AlessaSullivan- hahahaha. what you said really made me smile... i actually think my writing style is still not good enough. ^^" but thank you. i'm pushed to do better. :) hope everyone enjoys this chapter. :) thank you once again for the support! ^_^_

_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_M_

**Part 21: **The Deal… Retrieving a Soul and Restoring a Heart

The birds playing on the shore of the Titans tower readied themselves to take flight. The sun had already disappeared.. Yellow, blue, red, violet and vermillion pastels fought on the sky, pulling and stretching each other— an image of a skirmish in the form of a dance— an image that most artists can never capture on canvass. One of the birds on the shore, a small creature of brown and white, took the opportunity to watch this tugging war of colors. Its eyes reflected a red orange light, as if it was the sun's last struggle to fight the darkness. But the bird and its companions knew better— the night would once again swallow the sun and the sky's other mistress, the moon, would soon show up. So before the sky took on its other color… its other side, the birds will fly back to their nest to safety. Because even though the night has that alluring mood, the birds know better than to venture in the darkness.

So off they flew towards their destination, just in time as the last of the sun's rays were fully exhausted. The shadows of the birds whizzed by Raven's window and into her room. The light from the outside slowly retreated and darkness filled the room. Only a small light could be found in the room, somewhere in the dark corner of the dark bird's dwelling, a chest was glowing. But the light it gave off wasn't a light that held any warmth or hope— it was an eerie light that was black tainted with purple and green. The chest slightly opened and shadows poured out to the floor.

But that scene was hours ago... and there is no time to be dwelling in past events… the only way to go now is forward…

x-x-x-x-x

The Atlantean stood there, his face shocked and his mind trying to figure things out. In front of him, stood a man with long silver-white hair that was hiding a hideous and mocking smile behind his tattered black scarf. This man, in full-armor, who looked like an ancient warrior introduced himself to the Atlantean as Raven's mate..

Ah… yes…

Raven's mate…

Raven's mate…

_RAVEN'S MATE!_

English, being a language that's always bearing different meanings within a single word is a troublesome thing. But one can decipher the correct meaning to these certain words by basing it on the context used. This was, of course, basic and it didn't take a language major to understand how it works. So when this man— _this overly-highly-over-the-top-egotistic-haughty-man_, Aqualad thought, said that he was Raven's mate… then what he meant was that… the Atlantean felt his stomach curl. He didn't know what was worse: that thought of Raven having any kind of relation with this man or the thought that he was actually believing what this man was telling him. But the menacing confidence this silver-haired man displayed when he said this, showed that what he was saying wasn't a lie.

The Atlantean's thoughts were interrupted when a hearty laugh penetrated throughout the place.

"!" the laugh echoed all throughout and lasted a good few minutes.

"What's so funny?" Malchoir turned to the old man sitting in front of the chessboard. Aqualad turned to the old man as well. He totally forgot about the old man's existence and only now did he notice how frail he looked. Unlike his chess partner, his clothes were a ragged sack-like robe and his eyes, contradictory to his ancient feature wore a childlike cerulean blue. Apparently, it was the old man that laughed and this irritated the silver-haired wizard.

The old man smiled, showing a full set of yellow teeth before answering, "Hohohoho..! How can I not laugh? We both know that the young damsel you were referring to rebuffed you.. Not to mention she gave you, now what was the term..? …Ah yes! She gave you a good _butt kicking_ as well! Hohohoho!" the old man's laugh once again filled the place. The silver-haired man began giving off a threatening atmosphere. The sky suddenly turned red and black, and also held a murderous air about it.

"I suggest you watch what you say old man. I might very well finish what we left undone years ago." It was obviously a threat, but the old man just smiled at him.

"Hohohoho..! Bringing up the past that has long been eroded from my memory won't do any good. I suggest you boys talk about the current situation. That is what this young man came here for now, isn't it?" the old man turned to Aqualad and smiled at him. The threatening atmosphere started to die down.

"That's. Just. Boring." The silver wizard stated. "Remember well old man, I'm hundreds of years older than you. So don't ever call me '_boy_.' And do you honestly think I'd entertain this fish?"

"I didn't come here for entertainment." The Atlantean finally got back his composure. "I came here to get answers."

The silver wizard gave him a lazy glare. "A shame for you then. I just so happen to be looking for some entertainment. Thousands of years being stuck here just isn't fun."

"So I guess I have to force the answers out of you." The aquatic prince readied himself.

"I'm not going to waste my energy on you… like I said, if you provide me entertainment, I'll provide you with answers. If you refuse then it's still fine with me.. I, after all, have all eternity to wait for you to give in." he turned his back on the Atlantean and began playing chess with the old man once more.

_This guy's a total ass... _The aquatic boy stared at the two playing chess. _What the—this is.._

The game of chess now begins.

x-x-x-x-x

"This isn't going anywhere… we've checked everywhere! There's absolutely nothing strange in this place!" Beast Boy changed into a gorilla and began pounding his chest in frustration.

"Relax BB.. we still haven't checked everything. We still got the basement. There's still hope." The elder titan calmly said. "Besides, it's not like it's a total loss.. I found the remote."

"Is that _all _you care about! A stupid remote!" the changeling bared his fangs at his companion.

"I'm just trying to be optimistic.. if all of us are just gonna get carried away by our anger then we won't get anything done." The mechanoid stated.

Robin and Starfire could only look at the two argue. They both knew that Cyborg was trying his best to make the situation look light so that they won't feel too pressured. He always knew what his companions were feeling and he had always been a pillar of support in the most dire of situation. He was, after all, the oldest among them. They can only guess the pain that their metal friend was carrying and hiding within him.

"Stop with the bickering guys.." the masked leader commanded. "We're here at the entrance to the basement already… let's go in.. whatever we're looking for just might be here.." the masked boy press a button and the door swished open.

"It looks a lot darker than I remembered." Starfire commented. The two squabbling titans peered into the entrance as well.

"Yeah… it almost looks as if—!" the elder titan was cut off as he was grabbed by a dark fog.

"Cy!" Beast Boy quickly grabbed the elder titan's hand and tried to pull him back. The others followed suit.

"This might be what we were looking for!" the masked leader groaned.

"Get ready guys! I'm gonna try something!" the mechanoid screamed as he changed his other hand into cannon mode.

"Cyborg don't!"

It was too late, Cyborg blasted into the fog and a huge explosion broke out. The four titans were slammed against the walls. Smoke and debris were everywhere.

"Aww… my head.." the changeling rubbed his forehead.

"Cyborg! What the hell was that!" Robin half-shrieked.

"Sorry.. it was the only thing I could think of." The elder titan gave a sheepish grin.

"Friends… please stop fighting with one another. We seem to have more pressing matters to attend to." the Tamaranean motioned them to look in front. Their eyes grew wide when they saw huge dark figures emerging from the smoke. Giant shadow figures were right in front of them bearing a form of a wolf, their eyes were glowing green and purple fumes were escaping from their mouth.

"Now, that is definitely strange."

x-x-x-x-x

It was quiet. Nothing could be heard but the clinking of the ivory chess pieces and the beating of his heart. Something strange happened when the two started playing chess. The atmosphere grew tense and an unforeseen force seemed to be at work. And Aqualad swore that he could feel Malchoir smirking behind that scarf of his… something was happening…

x-x-x-x-x

_**BOOOooOOMM!**_

"What the hell! My plasma cannon isn't even scratching them!" Cyborg yelled as he and the others were running form hallways to hallways, away from the giant shadow wolves chasing them.

"Heeyagh!" Robin jumped and turned to throw his birdarangs, but that was also useless. The metal weapons just passed through the creatures as if they weren't there. Starfire's starbolts also had the same effects as the birdarangs.

"I believe we need a new plan." The red-head was getting frustrated.

"How 'bout this then!" the changeling turned into a rhinoceros and tried to ram at the creatures. When his horns touched the creatures they immediately changed shape and wrapped themselves around the green rhino.

_Black bishop eats white horse…._

"Beast Boy!" Cyborg quickly ran and grabbed unto the changelings hand.

_White pawn eats black rook._

"Raagh!" the shadows grip seemed to loosen and the mechanoid could now see half of the changeling's body.

"Almost got you BB!" the elder titan wheezed.

_Black horse eats white rook._

Cyborg found himself suddenly being surrounded by the shadows and Beast Boy was once again engulfed by the darkness.

_White queen eats black horse._

Robin threw a flash bang towards the growing shadows. As soon as the light came out, the creatures instantly vanished. Within moments, they saw Cyborg and Beast Boy were lying on the floor, unconscious.

"Cyborg! Beast Boy!" the masked leader and the Tamaranean immediately went to their knocked out comrades.

"Cyborg! Get a hold of yourself!" Starfire shook the mechanoid but there was no response. She turned to their leader. "Robin we must—_gasp!"_

"Star?"

_Black queen eats white rook__…..__Check._

The two conscious titans were rendered motionless as the shadows suddenly appeared, surrounding them with no escape. Within moments everything was covered in darkness…

….

….

….

_YACHOOOOOO!_

_Clink…Clunk…Clank.._

_Sounds of things falling could be heard._

The shadows immediately disappeared and the four unconscious titans were saved.

x-x-x-x-x

"You did that on purpose." As small vein could be seen on Malchoir's forehead.

"I'm sorry.. what was that..?" the old man innocently smiled as he used his sleeves to wipe his nose. "Hmm… is it allergies? _Sniff._"

A strong eastern wind blew passed them, moving some of the chess pieces that were scattered on the ground. The uneasiness that the Atlantean was feeling vanished when the old man sneezed and sent the chessboard and its pieces flying. He couldn't explain what it was he was feeling just moments ago, but he knew that something else was happening while they were playing chess.

"You snot-faced geezer.." the sliver wizard mocked. "I never thought you to be the sore loser type. To sneeze and ruin the game."

"Hohohoho! I most definitely don't care if I win or not…" the old man continued to sniff and wipe his nose. "But I felt hurt.. You were doing _it _again weren't you?" For only an instant, the old man's eyes turned sharp and threatening as he looked at the Malchoir.

"Tch. so what if I was?" the silver wizard turned away from the old man. He was obviously upset over something. The silver-haired man slowly raise raised his hand up to the sky. The colors suddenly spun as if they were being sucked into a vacuum. A dark smoke came out of the center of the stirring colors and slithered its way to his raised palm.

Aqualad felt a cold shiver passed by his spine as he could feel his comrades' presence in the area. He anxiously looked around, searching for his friends. _How can Robin and the others be here?_

"Hmp.. seems like the jester has finally become mad.." the silver wizard scoffed. The skies went back to normal and the presence of the West Titans disappeared.

"No… I know that I felt them just a while ago." The Atlantean muttered.

"Hmmm.. it seems like your friends fell victim to that lizard's little game…" the aquatic prince turned to the old man. He held a forlorn frown as he looked at the aquatic boy. "I'm sorry.."

"Oh, shut up you old bag of bones. There's nothing to be sorry about. Because of you, I wasn't able to get enough." Malchoir came near the old man and raised his hand toward him. The dark smoke came out of his palm and entered into the old man's nose and ears. "That's your share."

"You know very well I don't want it." The old man continued to frown.

"There's nothing you can do. I can't _eat _your part. It's disgusting and too pure."

The Atlantean immediately felt his friend's presence when the smoke came out. Horror spread across his whole body.

"You! What did you do to my friends!" the aquatic prince charged at the wizard. The silver wizard just raised his hand and flicked his finger at the boy's forehead. The Atlantean found himself flying in the air.

_Crash!_

"You're quite annoying. Didn't I already say that the old man saved them?" The sliver-haired man glared at the Atlantean. "I'm tired already... I suggest you leave before I kill you…"

"You know you can just tell him that his companions are just unconscious and you only took some of their life force..." the old man suggested. Malchoir merely shrugged as if saying such things is boring and doesn't provide an interesting reaction.

"I won't…" the Atlantean slowly got up. "I won't leave until you tell me how to save Raven!" his eyes glared back at the silver wizard. His eyes showed determination. The young prince conviction would not be wavered it seemed and this irritated the wizard.

"He reminds me of your past self… irritating and insolent." The silver-haired man turned to the old man. "_Very _irritating if I may say.." The old man just smiled at him.

"Just tell me how to save her and I'll gladly leave here already..!" Aqualad slowly walked towards the wizard, his gaze stronger than ever.

"Save you say? How can a fish with a second-rate power possibly save her?" the silver wizard asked in a mocking tone.

"At least I'm trying. You keep claiming that you're stronger than me, but you're not doing anything to help her!" the Atlantean pointed an accusing finger at the silver wizard.

"Such heroics don't suit me…" the silver-haired man rolled his eyes, "I belong to the other side of such fairy tales. I gave you a chance to _save _her, but _you_ failed. And besides, even if you manage to save her soul… you can never save her heart. I, after all, have already taken it a long time ago."

The Atlantean smirked at the wizard's last remark. "You're lying… there's no way you can take her heart… No one can take anyone's heart; you can only open your heart and share it to the other. The only thing you managed to do is close it when she opened it to you."

"Hmmp.. and what makes you say that?"

"Do you know Raven's favorite tea? Do you know her favorite show? Her favorite color!"

"What the hell are you babbling about? Those are insignificant details…"

"But the things that appear to be insignificant are the things that are most important… especially when you talk about Raven. Knowing such small details and being able to make that person happy… Let's make a deal. You claim to have taken her heart but I know that's a lie. Tell me how to get back Raven and I'll show you that I can save them… both her soul and her heart! If I can't save her heart and it's true that you have it then you can take all of my life force.. all I need is just information."

"You… are an id—"

_Clap! Clap! Clap!_

"Hohohohohoho! Good speech young man! Good speech!" the old man clapped once more and gave out a hearty laugh. "Why not take that bet Malchoir? Both of you seem so sure. Why not see which one of you is right? This man seems to have more things at stake than you do anyway."

"…Fine…. Since there's nothing else more interesting.." the wizard came near the Atlantean and swiftly slapped the boy's head.

"Ow! Huh!" the Atlantean's mind was suddenly filled with different information about a ritual and about a world that Raven once told him-Azarath.

"That's all you need to know for now Nemo. I'm looking forward to see you lose this bet. Now hurry up and leave, you're starting to become an eye sore." Malchoir turned and vanished before the Atlantean's eyes.

"Hmmm.. he seems more excited than usual.. this will definitely become a good show.. Ah, young man!" the old man motioned the aquatic prince to come near. "Take this with you… I'm sure it will prove useful when the time comes…" the old man handed him an amulet that bore and image of a sword stabbing a dragon.

"Thank you…" the Atlantean smiled, "Um… can you tell me just who exactly you two are?"

"Hohohoho… well… I am a man way passed his time… and my chess partner.. Well… let's just say he's the last of his kind when he ate his mother. Hohohoho." The old man disappeared as well. The aquatic prince found himself now alone. He raised his hand holding the amulet and looked at it. It was obvious that the amulet was made from a special type of metal as different colors from the rainbow reflected against the light.

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_hmm... hope you guys understood what happened..^^" next chapter is... well... you guess... :) see ya guys._


	22. Colors and Dreams: Raven's Message

_sorry for the long wait... here's chappie 22. thanks once again for reading and i feel honored to have been able to make you guys like/love/interested in my story! will try to update soon. =)_

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**Part 22: **Colors and Dreams… Raven's Message

A void.

A black space.

Then…

Green….

Green is the color mostly associated with nature. A color that reminds one of the wind whistling along the tree's leaves. A calming color that when is within its realm, it will make you feel as if time passes by quickly. A color that denotes renewal… always fresh.. always new… It is associated with the earth and the creatures that live within it.

From the darkness of the void emerges a person that can best represent these creatures of nature.

"Whoa… my head hurts…" Beast boy began rubbing his temple. "Why does it always have to be the head..? huh..?" the young titan looked around and all he could see was black… "Where am I..?"

A black space.

In another corner of a void (if such things do exist within this nothingness.)

Then in a manner so similar...

Blue…

Blue is a color that associates itself with the infinite sky and the fathomless sea. But the blue we are looking at is a lighter shade of blue that shines in a peculiar fashion. Blue, too, is a calming color that symbolizes peace, stability, confidence and intelligence. It is a color loved by most for it creates a certain assurance and foundation to any space. Like its partner, blue also makes one feel as if time passes by quickly when you are caught within its realm.

Within the darkness, the titan that sports a tattoo-like design of this color emerges…

"Man.. I swear… I am never gonna eat twenty pizzas before sleeping ever again… I think I'm gonna—hurp!" the elder titan quickly covers his mouth to stop whatever creation his stomach has produced and wished to expel. "What the..? Where the heck am I..? Everything's… black."

In the other reaches of a void…

A black space.

And once more…

Red… (No… it's more of pink, really …. Anyway..)

Red is a color associated with power. It is a powerful color where passion and strong feelings emerge. It is color that can denote happiness and prosperity. It is a color of celebration and its fieriness is something that always sweeps the other colors away. If powdered with a little white it turns into something more calm and friendly.

From the darkness, the titan that loves to conjure up incomprehensible food of this color in a lighter shade appears.

"Where am I..? What has happened…?" the Tamaranean lass closed her eyes to calm herself, "I believe we were fighting shadowed creatures when…" as the young red-head opened her eyes she was surprised to see... nothing.

A black space.

Within the void.

To lead them…

Yellow (wielding a golden shade.)

Yellow is a color of cheerfulness but it can also become somber and traditional. It is a color that is most visible when you put them side by side with all the other hues. It is a color that is hard to handle since it blinds people with its brilliance. But if mastered, it becomes a color of excellence and of leadership. A color that can stand on its own but at the same time, it creates a certain unity with the other colors.

A black and yellow cape emerges from the darkness with its owner, a masked boy.

"This place is…?"

Darkness leads one to be blind. No matter how brilliant the colors are and no matter how lively they are, they will be consumed and their colors will disappear. Within this realm… within this void, such things also apply. So time is of the essence. Things must be settled before their colors begin to vanish and become darkness. The being that brought these four here knows that… and her time… is also fading…

So…

"Be still.." a monotonous voice echoed all throughout the void.

All four heard this voice and in unison they replied. "Raven!"

"I said be still.. questions later… now close your eyes.. and concentrate.." the voice, though demanding, was quite weak. But the others followed without a second thought. "Now… imagine that all of you are in the same space.. Remember each other's features and imagine that you are all together…"

The titans felt a strong wind pass by and then they felt something warm beside them. As they opened their eyes, they were surprised to see each other. Before they could hug and feel relieved the dark bird continued.

"I said be still…!" the girl's voice sounded more tired than before.. "there isn't much time.. just stay still and listen to me.."

"Rae! Are you alright? Where are you!" the changeling shouted at the darkness.

"You never listen do you..? I said shut up. There… isn't... just… stop… looking… enjoy… time… together… Trigon won't… I'll…stop…" her sentences were cut and the voice suddenly disappeared.

"RAVEN!" the other titans frantically searched around the void.

A shadow suddenly appeared behind them. "I just wanted…"

They all turned around and were met with a dark energy engulfing them.

"Goodbye…"

That was her final message… her last farewell to her friends.

"Raven!" the masked boy jolted up. The boy found himself in his room, bearing a massive head ache. As he buried his face on his hands he began to think.. _Was that a dream..? Rae.. No, that wasn't a dream… Raven.. she… _the masked leader slapped himself to help him wake up. "That's right. Star and the others!"

The boy quickly got up and went out of his room. As he raced through the corridors of the tower he began remembering the previous events. _That's right… we were planning to look at the basement when those things popped out… and then.. all I remembered was….everything turned black.. then…_

The masked leader quickened his pace. He would go look for the others and ask them if they had the same dream. But where would they be? It was strange to find himself asleep in his bed when they were just moments ago fighting. It would have been common sense to go and check if the others were in their room, since he also found himself in his room, but there was a force pulling him, a sort of sensation that tells him that they would no longer be in their room because this same sensation would beckon them there… the place where everything and anything happens in the tower. The place that's more familiar then their own private rooms.. The masked wonder turned for the last time and quickly opened the door to the common room.

As the door swished opened he was immediately met with a hug.

"Robin! We had a dream! Raven she—" the Tamaranean princess was full of excitement. The boy hugged the Tamaranean back and looked at the others.

"I'm guessing you guys had the same dream. "

"You bet 'ya." Cyborg gave him a wink.

"This means that Raven really is alive somewhere. But… I think she just contacted us to … " Beast Boy held a troubled face.

"That's right… this isn't the time to be celebrating guys… we still don't know where she exactly is and it looked like there was something wrong.. We have to find her. But the problem is we don't know where to start."

"Do not worry Robin. We have already found a starting point. No… it is more appropriate to say that Aqualad has found a starting point." The Tamaranean answered.

"I see that everyone is up and awake already." Speak of the devil. Just as the masked boy was about to inquire the Atlantean entered the room.

"Aqualad." The masked leader turned to speak to the Atlantean, "I'm guessing you're the one that saved us."

The aquatic boy immediately replied, "I just found you guys lying down in the corridor… everyone was pale so I thought it was proper to put you in your respective rooms to rest."

"You just saw us lying there? What happened to the wolves?"

"Yes… the others also asked me the same question. Unfortunately, I saw no wolves when I came."

"Pretty weird huh, Robin?" the mechanoid spoke.

"Yeah… that just doesn't fit.." the masked leader began contemplating.

"I suggest you leave that as a mystery for the moment, for more urgent matters needs to be addressed." The Atlantean passed the masked leader and went to the middle of the room. It was only then did the masked boy realize that the common room had been… redecorated. There were weird patterns on the floor slithering around a huge Star of David and multiple candles formed a circle around them. The blinds were lowered and shut. It was dark and the usual perky mood of the room had disappeared. It had now shared the same atmosphere of the dark bird's abode.

"Everyone should start eating… before we leave." The Atlantean motioned everyone to the kitchen area where six pizza boxes laid. "I hope six is enough.. I don't know what your individual preferences are so I decided to just randomly choose the toppings."

Cyborg, Starfire and Beast boy quickly charged at the pizzas.

"Boo-yah! This one has All-Meat toppings!"

"Uh.. Thanks Aqualad.. Um... Putting aside the room's new design where are we exactly going? Did you find where that voice is hiding?"

"I found out where that voice came from.. But we're not going there. I've already finished my business there.."

"So… where are we going?"

The Atlantean looked at the masked leader. The Atlanteans eyes were strangely cold and distant, Robin thought. There were rings forming as well. For how long have they been asleep while this young Atlantean awake he wonders. "You'll find out when we get there… as far as I know, you guys have already been there… Go and eat already.. I don't know how long we'll be staying there or how much energy the trip would exhaust us."

The masked leader decided to put his questions aside and eat. It seemed there were things that the Atlantean was hiding from them but in due time, he knows that their aquatic comrade would tell them everything. He just hopes that time will be soon, before the young prince would be sucked up in that sadness his eyes also showed.

In just a few minutes the six pizzas where gone and they were ready.

"So we just need to stand in the middle of this star?" the changeling asked.

"Pretty much." was the Atlanteans standard reply.

"So we're going to-?"

"You'll soon see.." the aquatic prince took out what seemed to be dried grass blades and hair and scattered them around the circle. He took out other things but the others could no longer discern what they were. After a while, the Atlantean took out a crooked dagger with a raven shaped hilt and stabbed his hand. Blood trickled out from his palm and he began chanting.

The candles around them were extinguished one by one as a strong wind encircled and closed in on them. The Atlantean continued his chant. The writings on the floor began to shine a bright white then changed into a purple shade.

"I'm starting to see a trend here.." the mechanoid muttered.

"I think we forgot to bring our sunglasses." The masked boy answered back.

The light grew stronger and the whole room was engulfed in the light. In just seconds, the light disappeared and so did the titans in the room.

The titans found themselves blinded by a bright white light. Everything around them seemed to be spinning in a chaotic order and they no longer knew if they were standing on anything. Something seemed to be sucking them of their energy and they were slowly losing consciousness.

"We're almost there…" the Atalantean said.

"Where exactly..?" the Tamaranean asked.

The aquatic prince groaned as the blood from his palm suddenly gushed out like a fountain. "Here…."

The titans looked around and the blinding light began to fade. Everything at first seemed muddled but they were able to make out magnificent ivory towers below them… a white city filled with towers and a huge marbled temple was in the middle of it. The five West Titans couldn't describe what they were feeling… but it seemed like they knew this place already.. as if they had already been here long ago. A tear trickled down their faces as certain sadness overcame them but they did not know why.

"Looks like we can't make it to the main entrance.." the Atlantean grunted. "We'll have to walk from here…"

The light engulfed them once more. When the titans opened their eyes they found themselves on a prairie. When they looked around the West titans found out why they felt sad when they saw the city. Right in front of them, a few kilometers away, there was a destroyed and ancient city. Though it looked old and uninhabited for centuries, they knew it was the same magnificent city they saw before...

"We're here..." the Atlantean took a few steps toward the city.

"This place is…" the masked boy looked around once more.. he had been here before… he knows it… but he can't remember…

"I told you that you guys have already been here… but for me, this is my first time in Azarath.." the aquatic prince stated. The masked boy's head began to hurt. He had heard of that name before… _This place is—_

"Who are you?" a voice queried from behind the titans. As they turned they saw a figure cloaked in white just a few feet away from them. The figure changed its stance as they turned around and in a more threatening tone asked once more, "Who are you..?"

"Pleased don't be alarmed." The masked leader answered.

"That's right… We're only here to look for answers." The Atlantean moved closer to the figure.

"You did not answer my question." The figure took a step back and readied itself to attack.

"I beg your forgiveness.. We're known as the Teen Titans of Earth. We came from another dimension. My name's Aqualad, and we came here looking for answers…"

The figure did not move or speak.

"Please.. do not be afraid." The Tamaranean gently flew beside the Atlantean, "We mean you no harm. We are just here to ask if anyone can help us save our dear friend Raven."

"Raven…?" the figure let down its guard and after a brief pause, began walking towards the city.

"Please wait!"

"I sense no ill will from you… if you are looking for answers, follow me to the city. I'm sure the high priest can provide you with them." The figure continued to walk.

"Thank you…" the cloaked figure did not respond and the titans began walking toward the city of Azarath.

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_=D leave a comment if you'd like!_


	23. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos: Azar's Tale

_hi guys! sorry it took a while to update the story.. just didn't know how to put the scenes in my head to words. thanks for reviewing/commenting on this story. it's what pushes me to continue this really. coz my lazy and procrastinating tendencies tend to be pushed aside when i know there are people that want to know what happens next. i am truly honored that my story is able to entertain people. here's the next chap. oh.. and i guess this story really is an Alternate Universe since i kinda played around with some facts here about Raven's childhood. ah well... enjoy! =)_

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**Part 23: **Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos: Azar's Tale

Dust. Debris. Ruin. Famine. Disease. And death.

These were some of the things that passed by the titans' minds as they walk through the city of Azarath. The broken walls of the buildings were meticulously covered and closed together by cobwebs. The marble sheen of the tall structures is dulled by the grime and debris sticking unto them. Just by taking a small glance, it was apparent that this once glorious city met its downfall when a war broke out. As to the identity of the enemy and the thousands of casualties the citizens had to endure, the visitors can only guess.

They guessed that the inhabitants have long left this city as did the Aztecs and Incas. Where the inhabitants would become memories to be forgotten or retrieved. But it appears that some of the inhabitants did not leave the city, the titans thought, as they looked at the cloaked figure in front of them. The figure never did not look back or talk to them, but just kept moving forward in a calculated pace. They were making their way towards the middle of the city where a huge temple stood erect. It looked like the perfect place for a high priest to be staying in, no doubt about that, but they wondered where this cloaked figure stayed in this broken city.

"Umm.. Excuse me.." the changeling decided to ask. "So the high priest stays in that big ol' temple were going to right?"

The figure just looked back and nodded.

"Great.. right.. so.. Do you also stay in the temple?"

The cloaked figure did not answer until they were in front of the temple gates.

"Only the high priest can stay within the temple.. We are here." The figure turned to them and finally took off the hood. The titans were shocked to see a beautiful young woman facing them. Though her skin was tanned, they immediately knew she was related to Raven. It wasn't just her strong resemblance to the goth girl, it felt like they had met this woman before.

An image suddenly flashed by Aqualad's mind as he remembers the image of this woman holding a baby. The Atlantean looked at the woman with wide eyes. "You.. You're—"

"Who goes there?" a strong but old voice came out as the doors of the temple swung open. An old man wearing the same white cloak as the woman appeared. His face was stern and grumpy, like all grandpas that lack sleep.

"It is me." The woman stood in front of the old man. "High priest, I have brought guest. They bear news of Raven."

The old man scowled as he heard the goth girl's name. "Arella! How dare you bring these strangers straight to the temple! You know what the Great Azar told us!"

"I know clearly well, high priest." The woman, whom the high priest called Arella, quickly responded. "But you should also know that not just anyone can go here. Since Raven herself did not come her, then I fear…" the woman looked down with worried eyes. "We do not have time to argue high priest. Just go ask the Great Azar herself, what action we should take."

The old priest grunted before closing his eyes to concentrate. A white light surrounded the high priest. The old man looked at the titans and spoke, "Welcome strangers…" the titans were shocked to hear an old woman's voice come out of the high priest's mouth, "Don't be alarmed. I have just momentarily used the high priest's body as my vassal. Please come inside, so that we may talk properly. My power is easily drained when I am outside the temple." The old man (still shining white) motioned them to go inside. The titans slowly and cautiously went inside the temple.

When it was the Atlantean's turn to enter the temple he was immediately blocked by the high priest.

"Not you.." it was the old man's original voice. He seemed to have regained back control over his body. His eyes glared murderously at the Atlantean, "The temple is sacred and not for the likes of you. You're just like that Raven child. A mons—ow!" the old man suddenly slapped himself.

The Atalantean stood for a moment and blinked at the scene that was unfolding right before him. It seemed liked the old man and the other being that was possessing his body were fighting..

"Fool..! Did I not say everyone enters?" the old woman's voice came back.

"Bu—but Great One..! That thing is—!" the old man accusingly pointed at the prince.

"Oh, just shut up Bob and loosen up." The old man slapped himself once more. "That boy is not a thing. He is our guest, now move out of the way!" The old man moved out of the way. "I'm sorry child, this old coot still hasn't gotten any sleep so he's a bit grumpy. Go on in now."

"Umm… thank you.." and the aquatic boy entered the temple.

The high priest (still being possessed), before entering the temple turned to Arella. "Dear. Please stop bearing such a face. I'm sure everything will be fine." It was the old woman's voice that came out from the priest.

The woman gave a weak smile. "I hope so Great One… but I fear—"

"Hush. We still don't know yet. But considering… hmm.." the high priest frowned, "Just go and prepare dear…"

"Yes.." the white cloaked woman bowed before leaving.

x-x-x-x

The titans were shocked when they entered the temple. The temple did look big outside but looking at the high rise domed ceiling and vast space was just amazing. Huge statues of angels reaching towards the heaven served as the pillars of the building. There were seven of them in total that surrounded them. Everything was marble white. intricate designs were carved all around he walls and ceiling. In the middle of the room was a large statue of a woman wearing the same cloak Arella and the high priest had. Her hands were outstretched towards the heavens like the angels.

"Welcome once again." The old woman's voice echoed throughout the temple. The high priest passed behind the titans and went towards the center of the temple where the statue stood.

"Umm.. Thank you for letting us in." Robin took a step forward. "We're called the Teen Titans. My name's Robin. These are my friends Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Aqualad."

The other titans each greeted the high priest. The old man smiled back and bowed to them. "Please wait a moment." The old priest suddenly flashed a bright white when he was a few feet away from the huge statue.

The titans gasped as they saw the old priest's form took the shape of an old woman now. She was glowing bright white and yellow, like a saint. They soon noticed that the huge statue in the middle was held the same face of the old woman.

"Hello dears." The glowing woman gave them a warm smile. "I am Azar, founder of Azarath."

"Azar… I've heard of that name before.." the masked leader muttered to himself. His eyes grew wide, "Hold on..! You're _the _Azar?"

"What is it Robin? Do you know her" the Tamaranean inquired.

The leader nodded. "Yeah. Raven told me about it once. Azar was the leader of the cult that took in her and her mother. She was also the one that took care of Raven when she was small. But from what I remember, Azar was already dead when Raven left this dimension."

The old woman paused for a few seconds before answering. "That is true. My body grew frail as the time passed by and I lost my vessel. And as time passed by some more…" the old woman's face grew grim. "More things were lost…"

"So you're just temporarily channeling your spirit to the high priest's body so that you can take physical form…" the Atlantan suddenly said.

"Yes… but I believe the purpose of your visit is not to inquire about such sundries."

"That's right. We're here because we need help in getting Raven back." Cyborg answered.

"Getting her back you say? Please. Tell me what has happened." The elder titan told the high priestess of the past events that had transpired and what had now become of the dark bird. Azar took in the mechanoid's word with great concentration.

"I see.. So that is why you are here.." the old woman took a few steps forward. "Tell me children, do you like stories?"

The group blinked before answering, "Uh… sure..?"

"Then let me tell you a story. A long time ago we had a follower who was tricked by a demon and bore his child. This child was a sweet little girl... Everyone grew fearful of the child because they knew not of her powers. Because of that they gave the girl a special privilege. She would play the most atrocious pranks and jokes on the priests, but she would be instantly forgiven. No matter how many times she would glue grass on their head or put food in their clean underwear she would never be punished. They believe that if the child were to not know of negative feelings such as hate or anger then her demon heritage would never come to grow. So they let her continue her ignorant 'happiness.' But there came one dinner time, when everything in the dining room started floating and spinning around. It seemed that her powers had awakened. All of the priests' efforts to not strangle the child came at a loss. Even if she were to remain ignorant of the concept of evil and good, her powers would still grow. The people grew fearful and restless when they realized this."

The high priestess stopped, closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "That child… even she chose such an option in the end.. How ironic." There was great strain when she had said these words.

"What do you mean by even?" the aquatic prince inquired.

"Do you children know what was the purpose of Azarath and the role the Azarathians' swore to keep..?"

"It was to stop Trigon, I think." The masked boy answered.

"It wasn't just to stop him, dear. It was to _destroy _him_._ Trigon's a demon of pure evil and his very existence spells doom to everyone in any dimension. I formed Azarath so that the people here would be free from such evil and to find a way to finish that monster once and for all… and we would use _any _means to achieve such goal."

The titans felt a chill run down their spine.

"Wait… this story isn't just about any child, right? The kid you're talking about is Raven, right?" the changeling felt his body shake.

The old priestess stared at the green titan before answering. "Tell me children… if you were faced with a great trouble. An option between one life over many others. Which would you choose?"

"I… I would.." the masked leader clenched his fists.

"It is only natural to choose the option where more is saved, is it not? Especially if it would rid the dimensions of evil and destruction. So the council and myself decided to execute the child before her powers matured."

"That's inhumane! What about Raven's mother!" Cyborg screamed.

"We weren't that heartless. We took in an orphaned baby and planned to use her in the ritual…"

"Ritual..?" the Atlantean's eyes narrowed.

"Yes. You see what we needed to destroy was not the child's body. It is, after all, just a vessel. What we needed to destroy was her soul." The titans' eyes grew wide. "So the ritual was to extract the soul from the child and destroy it. We would then transfer the spirit of the orphaned baby to the empty vessel. The mother would not know such difference since the child stayed within this temple for most of her time. But… things did not go as planned. As soon as we extracted the child's soul it went berserk. Pure dark energy started to move around the temple, destroying everything in its path. We couldn't destroy the soul. It was far too strong. So before it could escape and make more trouble I managed to contain it. But when I tried to put the soul back in the vessel, I could not, I needed a pure energy to balance the dark energy the soul had… so using the orphan baby's innocence and purity I managed to crystalize the soul and put it back." She slowly tapped her forehead as she explained. "The vessel reverted back a few years and became a babe once more. Destroying the soul deemed to be impossible, so we took another option. It seemed that the child's powers were highly reliant on emotions so I taught her how to control them until it was my time for my vessel to deteriorate."

The high priestess suddenly saw a flash of green in front of her eyes. She effortlessly dodged the green tiger's pounce.

"Beast Boy! What the hell are you doing!" Robin and the other west members quickly restrained their enraged comrade.

"How could you! You guys are a bunch of hypocrites!" Beast Boy immediately wailed as he changed back. "You guys wanted to rid of evil! You never thought twice when you decided to kill Raven or even that baby! And you even taught her how to be emotionless..! What kind of sick bastards are you!" tears were falling from the changelings eyes.

"Uncontrolled emotions blind us from the truth, green one. And sacrificing the child was one sure way to make sure Trigon does not rise again. Even she knew that. That is why she chose death herself..!" Azar frowned. "But.. as I have already said… it's impossible to destroy her soul. She only managed to delay once more her father's awakening. You children should be thankful for her generosity and live out your lives. By the time Trigon awakens, your lives would have long passed already."

"We appreciate your concern, lady. But we don't want a deal like that." Cyborg calmly spoke. "We came here so that we can find a way to get Raven back. Not to listen to stories."

"That is right. A life without our dear friend Raven would be very lonely." Starfire added.

"We beg of you, if please tell us how to save her. We won't let her carry this burden all by herself." Aqualad stood in front of the great Azar and looked at her straight in the eye. "I'll take full responsibility if Trigon revives. I will do everything I can to stop him from hurting Raven or anyone else.

"You…" the high priestess took a good look at the Atlantean. "Ah.. I see why now.." she bowed her head and chuckled. "Life is truly full of ironies… I'll take your word for it since you're a dashing young man."

"So you'll help us?" the masked boy asked.

"Yes… perhaps you children can do it.."

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_tell me if there's something wrong. my eyes are hurting really bad so i really couldn't check it very well. hahaha.. anyway please leave a comment if you'd like. =) it's what actually keeps me going._


	24. Par-T in the T-tower

**Hey guys. After a whole year of not updating and writing, I finally found the time and inspiration to continue. To those who kept on telling me to continue the story, I thank you and I really do apologize. Hope you guys haven't given up on this story. I'll try to update and finish it as soon as possible. Here's part 24. Finally. ^_^"**

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**Part 24**: Par-T in the T-tower

Arella entered the room just as Azar agreed to help them. Wrapped around her tanned arms was a golden box.

"Ah. Perfect timing, my child." The old woman motioned her hands towards her. "Come. Our guests bear valuable news regarding your daughter."

The Titans stared at the young woman carrying the golden box. Did they just her the old coot right? Did she just say her daughter was—? Well, _they_ did look alike so it shouldn't come as a shock, but they still were.

The woman gave a sad smile, "That much I've guessed, Great One. But I fear their news is laden with a burden I might not be to handle." She went near the old priestess and gave her the box.

The old woman gently patted Arella's head after retrieving the box. "I believe that any news about your daughter, be it the best or worst, will always carry weight. Especially to a mother who is as worrisome as she is doting towards her child." the young woman gave a weak smile. "But it is as we feared, it appears Raven chose a fate that—"

"Please Great Azar." The young woman quickly and weakly interjected. "Speak no more. When I met her friends at the prairie instead of her… that much I have already guessed as well. To hear what my mind has deciphered into words.. I'm afraid my heart will fail me." The old woman could see that the young woman's whole body was trembling as she slowly spoke. Droplets of water started to fall in her eyes. Azar gave her a reassuring hug.

"My child, not all hope is lost. Out young guests came here not just to tell stories. They came here to find out how to bring back our dearest Raven." The old woman placed her hand below Arella's chin and tilted her head up. "Surely, your mind has also opened up this possibility. That is why you brought this box to me." The young woman nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. Azar now turned her attention to their guests. She walked towards them and opened the box. Inside, there was a small white crystal shaped like a tear.

"This crystal was created from the first tear of every child born here in Azarath. The first tear contains a pure power we call "Innocence." Once a person first experiences feelings, be it pain or joy, they let go of innocence. It escapes through their first tears and slowly disappears. We were able to contain the "Innocence" before it disappeared and this is the result." The Titans, looked at the crystal. There was, indeed, as strong power coming from the jewel. A power that felt so pure that they were afraid that they might taint it's purity if they were to touch it.

"So this crystal will bring back Raven?" Beast Boy asked, still looking at the crystal.

"Not entirely." The old woman hovered a hand above the crystal and made a grabbing motion. The crystal began to float out of the box. "You see, when Raven destroyed her mind she created a failsafe that would guarantee that Trigon cannot use her for at least two thousand years."

"A failsafe?" the mechanoid raised a brow. The crystal was now being enveloped by a white swirling smoke.

"Yes. She shattered her soul into several pieces you see. And spread it across different dimensions." Sweat was starting to form in the old woman's forehead.

"Is that possible? How could a soul shatter?" Robin asked.

"I only used that term to help better describe it. After all, the souls are the sturdiest and at the same time most fragile things. The good thing is that her soul has not shattered into too many pieces." The crystal was now completely covered by the white swirling smoke.

"So we need to retrieve the pieces of her soul?" the Tamaranean eyes shone.

"That's right. But it's very amusing. To think that large chunks of these pieces are so near." The old woman chuckled.

"What do you mean?" the masked boy quickly asked.

"Oh you'll see soon enough. Young man." Azar looked at the Atlantean, "I need your assistance for this." The young prince raised a brow but came closer. The old woman spoke in a low voice so that only the two of them could hear. "I need you to use your power to corrupt the "Innocence" in the crystal.

"What!" the Atlantean was taken aback.

"'Innocence' is surely a strong power but it is easily taken over by the dark. Especially this 'Innocence' that was taken from humans. Raven's soul is made from the darkest of powers since she is the child of Trigon. I need you to create a crack in the 'Innocence' by corrupting it. It will serve as bait for the pieces of her soul hiding nearby. Now, stop delaying." The Atlantean felt a certain danger when he heard the old woman talk about part of himself that he has never told anyone. He had the urge to turn and walk away, but he couldn't. Something more important was at stake than his secret after all. He slowly and reluctantly raised his hand towards the floating crystal and started chanting. The swirling white wind started to mix with a violet and midnight blue light. The smoke and light was suddenly vacuumed in by the crystal.

The crystal was no longer pure white. It bore a cloudy dark violet and midnight blue. And then they heard a cracking sound.

_Crack._

"Gaaahhhh!" the Titans found themselves sprawled on the floor, cringing in excruciating pain. It was like their head was being split opened. Robin slowly crawled toward the old woman. The crystal shining a bright blood-red and aubergine. "You… Graaahh!" the masked boy couldn't say anymore. All he could do was to scream along with the others.

Dark aubergine and blood-red smoke came out from the West Titan's mouths, eyes and ears. The smoke emerging from them were vacuumed by the crystal that was starting to glow menacingly. Azar quickly gave the last chance and it was done. The crystal plopped unto the ground. It now glowed the familiar blood-red of the dark bird's chakra.

"What the hell was that!" Cyborg screamed as soon as pain completely disappeared.

Starfire was already on her feet, charging towards Azar, her eyes glowing with anger. "How you dare hurt us!" the old woman stood her ground and just stared at her. The Tamaranean swung her fist, but her punch was just met with air. "Huh?" she turned around and saw the old woman still standing. She missed? But how?

"I'm sorry for not warning you children. But time is of the essence." The old woman apologized. "There is not much time you see. This realm is about to disappear." She bends over and picks up the transformed crystal. She goes towards the Atlantean and gives the crystal to him.

"What do you mean?" the prince peered his eyes.

"You see this realm is just an illusion of Azarath."

"What?"

"I'm afraid we no longer have time for tales. Listen to me children. I'm sorry for causing you pain, but it was the fastest way to extract pieces of Raven's soul within you. That child cared for you, her friends, so much that she placed huge pieces of her soul within you. It was only supposed to be released when you die. That's how much faith she had in you."

"But we didn't die." Cyborg stood was now up and helping Robin and Beast Boy up.

"No, but you felt about 1/10,000 amount of pain a human can handle before he dies. Believe me, Raven has felt much worse. Unfortunately, the "Innocence" was not strong enough to evoke all of the pieces of her soul. The rest is up to you." The Titan's felt a slight tremor.

"How do we find the rest of the pieces?" the masked leader queried. He knew that time was running out.

"You have to look for it manually. Or you can do what we did here. Look for something that can become bait for her soul. Either you find something pure and corrupt it or you find something that is of pure darkness." The ground shook. It was no longer a small tremor. Cracks were beginning to form on the walls and ceilings. "I'm afraid time is up. I will send you back." The old woman started chanting and the Titans found themselves surrounded in the familiar white light.

"Wait! Can't you guys come along with us?" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"That is right. I am sorry for my rude conduct earlier. Please come back with us." Starfire pleaded.

"I'm sorry. But that is not possible. As I have said, Azarath is no more and we are nothing but vintages of a time long forgotten. I'm glad that Raven made such dashing an beautiful friends. If I was perhaps younger, I wouldn't mind ending up with one of you men." Azar gave a playful wink. The male Titan's felt a shiver go down their spines.

"Gr-granny… c'mon now. Don't destroy the serious mood with a joke like that." Cyborg managed to answer. The Great Azar gave out a haughty laugh.

"Friends of Raven." Arella spoke. "I thank you for always taking care of my beloved daughter. I am forever in your debt. Please continue being by her side no matter what. It is not her fault that she is bound by the demon's blood. That sin is my own. It was never hers."

"You don't need to tell us that, lady." Cyborg smiled.

"Yeah. We'll take care of Raven no matter what happens." Beast Boy answered and smiled as well.

"Yes. We love her just the way she is: moody, apathetic, grumpy, shy and many more. That is the Raven we have come to know and will always love." Pink flowers surround Starfire as she says this.

"We'll get her back, without fail." Robin gave a confident smile. Arella answered with weak smile as tears trickled down her face.

"Besides." The Atlantean suddenly added, "If you ask me, she takes after more on her mother than her father." Arella's eyes widened. "She may have Trigon's blood and power, but everything else she got from you. A kind heart, a beautiful smile and a soul that is definitely as human as anybody else. So stop crying. When we get her back.. I want to tell Raven that I met her mom. And tell her that she loves her so much and she saw us off with a smile." The young woman's tears flooded and she bid the Titan's a farewell with a smile.

"Thank you."

They were blinded by white light.

x-x-x-x-x

A small figure tiptoes her way around the corridors of the West Titan tower. She found it very frustrating to walk around in the dark. Her head and body still felt somewhat light, as if there was something missing. But she couldn't quite figure out what exactly was missing. She tried to squint her eyes, hoping that it will help her vision; but it doesn't. _Of all the times for there to be a black out. _The girl thought to herself as she uses the walls to guide her. _Anyway, if there really is a black out what happened to the generator? Ah!_ The girl almost fell as she tripped over a large ball socks. She kicked the ball of laundry and muttered. "Darn stankball." After a few minutes she finally found it. With some effort she managed to open the door and—

_Pop! Pop! Pop!_

_Toooot! Tooot!_

The lights immediately turned on and the girl found herself covered in confetti.

"Surprise! Happy birthday Raven!"

The dark bird was indeed surprised. After some light adjustment from her eyes, she saw that she was surrounded with people. She knew the group there at the front as her team consisting of Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg. But she couldn't recognize all the others, although deep inside her she knows that she's met them before. Her head started to feel empty again. She didn't like the feeling

"What's with that stunned look for! C'mon say something!" one of the people from the crowd suddenly said. Raven was suddenly snapped back to reality. She pushed back her thoughts.

"Wow. Thanks guys! I really was surprised!" the goth girl smiled at them.

Everyone went deathly pale with her reaction. _That _is not Raven. Most of them thought. There were mixed emotions coming from the crowd and they just froze. _Raven…. Smiling… Oh my god! It's the end of the world! That has got to be a robot! A robot! Is it already raining frogs outside! _Those where just some of the thoughts that passed by the crowds mind.

*ahem!*

It was Beast Boy.

That's right. They were already prepped on the situation. From what Robin told them, Raven got into an accident in their last training camp and she has amnesia. They were expecting the worse of course, but I guess they weren't ready to see a Raven that smiled and acted in a not-so-Raven-matter. They quickly shook off their fears and after a minute of nervous laughter, they were ready.

"Let's party!" someone from the crowd yelled and they so they partied.

The party went all night long and the Titans and honorary Titans were having a blast. Of course, there was that awkwardness when Beast Boy reintroduced Raven to them. Seeing the young goth girl act so.. so… _normal_ gave them the creeps. But they try to quickly shrug it off and tried their best to help Raven regain their memories.

While everyone was getting their groove on, the people near the snack bar was deep in conversation.

"I've gotta hand it to both of ya BB and Star! You sure plan one hell of a party!" Bumblebee was still slightly caught up in her dancing groove.

"Thanks! Although it's a shame that we couldn't get the penguins and mummies." The changeling was beaming with pride.

"I bet if Raven was her normal shelf, she would've kicked all of us out of—!" Bumblebee stopped in mid-sentence. She no longer felt like dancing. She was one of the every few that knew the whole truth about what happened to Raven.

"Yeah… if the old Raven was here.." Beast Boy's held a sad look.

"Bumblebee… did you already talk to Herald.?" Robin quickly interrupted the somber atmosphere.

"Hm…? yeah… hold on, I'll go get him." Bumblebee left the small circle and went to look for trumpet.

"I don't get why we need _him_ for help." Cyborg pouted as he gobbled a bowl of nachos.

"C'mon Cy. You gotta out aside your rivalry with trumpet if we want to get Raven back. He's one of the very few people that can open up a rift in other dimensions." Robin placed a hand on the mechanoids shoulder.

"I know that. But still!" the mechanoid flung his arms up in the air.

"Sorry for the wait." Bumblebee came back, hand-in-hand with Herald. A vein popped in Cyborg's head.

"Trumpet." the mechanoid coldly stated.

"Rust-bucket." was the even colder reply. Lightning crackled in between the two.

"Please, stop with the crackling of stares. We are here to talk about Raven." Starfire got in between the two.

"That's right. Save the fight for later guys." The masked wonder assisted the Tamaranean in cooling down the two. "Hey Beast Boy, help us out here. Beast Boy?" the changeling was nowhere to be found. "Where'd he go..?"

"Knock it off ya two." Bumblebee slapped the heads of the mechanoid and trumpeter. "Remember what we talked about: M,W,F I go with Cyborg and T,TH,S I go with Herald. Today is a Sunday so it's my singles day." The two men turned their backs on each other and pouted.

"Seriously Bumblebee. You should just give an answer to one of them already." Robin scratched his head in frustration.

"But Robin. It's no fun if I can't exercise my right as the one being courted." Bumblebee gave a over-the-top innocent eyes at the masked leader. He couldn't do anything but let out a heavy sigh.

"I still don't know how you do it, Bee."

"It's something only a woman's touch can do." Bumblebee winked.

x-x-x-x-x

Far beyond the waters of the lake, the city lights shone. The wind was at the perfect temperature. The coldness was just right the young girl thought. She gently tucks in a stray hair behind her ear that got loose during the last breeze. The party was fun she thought. There were a lot of interesting people, though they had this look as if they were talking to a complete stranger. According to her friends, she has something missing inside of her so she has amnesia. She couldn't grasp the full situation. But she as glad that she was at least able to recognize her teammate. She once again has that empty feeling. Unconsciously she hugs herself. _When I woke up… I immediately knew Cyborg, Star, Beast Boy and Robin… and then there was—_

"Rae?" the goth girl turned around and saw the young titan.

"Hey BB. What brings you here." The girl makes a small grin.

"Well.. A party isn't a party if the celebrant is off brooding on the rooftop." The changeling absent-mindedly kicked the floor as he said this. The dark bird softly chuckled.

"I'm sorry. I just needed some fresh air. And…"

"And?" a small zephyr passed by them and the young girl tucked in her hair once more. Beast Boy felt his heart jump at the sight. The pale moonlight perfectly lighted her features; ceramic skin, a perfectly shaped petit body, and silky purple hair swaying in the wind. Her mere motion of tucking in her hair was enough to make the changeling's heart jump out of his chest. She was radiant. _Has she always been this radiant? _The green titan wondered. _Maybe it's just the moon playing tricks on me.. no.. I've always seen her as this. I'm sure of it. _The young girl held a small smile.

"Actually…" the radiant girl spoke, "I don't know how to dance. So I cooped myself up here." A small and shy giggle escaped from her. The changeling turned into a Christmas color of green and red.

"Ummm… If you want… I can teach you." The green boy half mumbled to himself.

"Really? Funny. I don't remember you being a good dancer."

"I'm not a good dancer.." the changeling stated.

"Oh..?"

"I'm a GREAT dancer!" he exclaimed. "I'll teach you some moves if you do something for me."

The young girl giggled again, "What?"

"Slap me." Beast Boy was serious.

"What." The grin faded from her face.

"Give me a good slap with all your might and I'll teach you. You may not know it but hitting me was like one of your favorite hobbies. So slapping me might help get your memory back. So… Hit me baby!" the changeling turned to expose his right cheek. His eyes were shut tight. Ready for impact.

Raven did not know what to do. She knew that there was a sense of irritation whenever she saw the changeling from time to time, but she couldn't remember anything about hitting him. But when he said those words, he sounded so adamant. With shut eyes, she swung her hand in full force and slapped Beast Boy.

x-x-x-x-x

_Crash!_

"What the.?" The masked boy felt a strong tremor. "What was that?"

"I dunno. My scanner says it wasn't earthquake." Cyborg closed his scanner. "Hey! Where do you think you're touching Bee!"

"Perhaps we should tell our friend not to jump so much." Starfire recommended.

"Yeah… Guess so." Robin went to the DJ area to announce to the guests not to jump so much

x-x-x-x-x

"Oh my! Beast Boy! Are you alright?" a worried Raven asked as she looked at the poor changeling. There was huge crater around his head buried a foot or two in concrete. He stammered to make a thumbs up mark.

"I'm so sorry."

"Wuf ou u ocking fout.?" The changeling mumbled in between concrete. After a few seconds he was up and hugged the goth girl. "That was great! That was definitely a Raven slap! Hahahaha"

The dark bird was taken by surprised by the hug and could not react. But she couldn't help but smile after seeing the changeling's happy expression. "So, you gonna teach me how to dance..?" she asked.

"Deals a deal!" the changeling took her hands and pulled her into a haphazard dance that only Beast Boy could do.

In the shadows of the Titan tower rooftop, Aqualad hides himself. He watches the two dance beneath the moonlight. The goth girl's face wearing a mix emotion of worry and joy. A pain struck somewhere in his chest as he watches them.

"I guess this is for the better. My only mission here is to get back her soul." He said to himself and then he plunges into the water.

Raven stopped as she heard a small splash somewhere nearby. She quickly went to the edge and looked below. There was only the crashing of waves on the shore.

"Rae? What's the matter?" the changeling asked, worried.

"It's nothing.." the young girl lifts her head up and looked at the luminescent moon, in its full beauty, staring down at them. She closes her eyes and began remembering the events that transpired a week and a half ago.

"_Raven! How are you feeling?"_

"_Robin…?"_

"_That's right. I'm so glad you recognized me. The others and I were worried about you."_

_The goth girl looks around her room and sees her teammates in half-tears. She sees someone leaning near her bookshelves. He was a gallant young man with long black hair. Beneath the apathetic stare, his amethyst was filled with relief and care. The young girl opened her mouth to speak._

"_You…" pointing at the Atlantean "Who are you..?"_

_The West Titan's gasped at the goth girl's words._

"_Rae. Don't you recognize him?" the mechanoid was now more worried than relieved. "He's—"_

"_I am no one." The aquatic prince quickly replied. "I am someone that's not important for you to remember." His voice was ice cold. "It's good to see you're fine. I'll be leaving now." He nonchalantly made his way out of the room without another word._

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**I think my writing became a bit dull... Sorry bout that. Stay tuned! **


	25. Family: Pep Talk with Dad and Al

**Yo! Sorry if the update took longer than expected. I know I said that I wanted to finish this story ASAP but my writing muse seem to have left me so I had to go look for another one. This chapter didn't turn out the way I planned and the title completely changed. Anyway, here it is!**

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**Part 25:** Family... Pep Talk with Dad and Al

No one is ever completely innocent. Not anymore.

Ever since Adam and Eve took a bite from the forbidden fruit, people have been labeled sinners from conception till death.

They would spend their lives toiling day and night, trying to seek atonement for the sin that they did not even take part of. It was their ancestor's actions, not theirs. But they still have to pay. They still have to seek forgiveness. They still have to suffer… This original sin is one of the reasons why Innocence leaves a new born baby as soon as it sheds its first tears.

People realize they are impure and dirty as soon as they leave the womb of their mothers. The first sound newborns hear is a rasping and vengeful voice screaming that they are dirty, ruined and a sinner.

Confused at the voice, blaming them for a sin they know not of, all the newborns could do is cry in fear and pain until they lose their innocence and then begin to seek penance. But penance is not easily given and the burden is too heavy for most people. As they grow old they begin to curse life and forget their original objectives. Not understanding why they have to pay for a sin foreign to them, they grow weary and insane from their task. So they started creating more sins. A sort of localized sins for themselves, in order to tame their insanity and ground their actions. Some eventually go back to their path towards penance while some stray and just continue to sin.

Aqualad never fully understood the Christian concept of this original sin. He still couldn't grasp the thought that just one mistake, just eating a fruit, would lead to eternal suffering. The concept, he thought, was just like Beast Boy's _Don't-Eat-My-Tofu-Or-Else _idiosyncrasy. But what he could empathize with was the concept of bearing a sin not of his own action and continuing to create more sin. He felt a shiver pass by his spine as he walks through the bleak high-ceiling hallways of his castle. Spiders and their cobwebs seem to have found their way to the underwater palace as it covers the upper part of the hallway. _But the cobwebs don't seem out of place, _the prince thought. _Afterall, it's been ages since anyone has passed by here. _

Huge portraits hung from the wall depicting different faces of Atlantean Royalty. The boy did not care to look at them nor to familiarize himself to his linage. If it was possible, he wanted to stay away from this place for good. _Prince of Atlantis, huh. _Aqualad sensed his eyebrows furrow and his teeth grit as he remembered who he was. _The Unwanted Prince of Atlantis. The Abandoned Prince of…_

"That's a scary face you're showing there, son."

The Atlantean quickly stopped looked behind. There he saw an aged Atlantean staring at him. The boy immediately knew who it was.

"Atlan." The boy said. It had been years since he last saw this man but the sense of familiarity has not faded. This man had become his foster father-figure ever since Aquaman abandoned him. It was because of him, that the prince was able to learn to control and master his powers.

"What are you doing here..?" the boy queried.

"I should be asking you that. It seems like the books in the Great Library weren't enough for you. After immersing yourself for two months in there, I found it strange that you suddenly decided to go inside the place you hate the most." The man looked straight into the prince's eyes. "The things you've been researching for these past few months. I suggest you stop."

The young Atlantean gritted his teeth, turned and began walking once more. "I can't stop, Atlan. "

"You do know what you're getting yourself into, right?" the man asked.

"I do. After all, you taught me most of it."

Atlan did not chase after the young Atlantean. He stood there until the young prince's footsteps could no longer be heard. "I sometimes regret teaching you…."

x-x-x-x

_Why do I feel like I'm being abused these days? _Speedy thought to himself as he tries to dodge the flying dirty laundry ball. The ball just passed by him, an inch away from his face. He felt himself lose consciousness for half a second when the unbearable stench entered his nostrils.

"Darn! You almost had him Cy!" BB caught the ball in mid flight. "This time..!" the changeling was about to throw the ball when an arrow came flying towards him. Luckily he was able to dodge. The solid ground turned to ice as soon as the arrow hit it. "What the hell Speedy!"

"What? We never had an agreement that I'm not allowed to defend myself? Besides…" the young archer takes out three arrows and readies himself, "HOW COME IT'S FOUR VERSUS ONE!?" the scene zooms out and shows Speedy being surrounded by Bee, Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy.

"Oh, now your complainin'!?" Bee places a hand on her hips and raises a brow. "Who was it 30 minutes ago that claimed that he's able to take down all four of us alone?"

"I meant in a fight! Not in some crazy game of doge Beast Boy and Cyborg's month old dirty laundry!" the archer shouted at the top of his lungs as he menacingly pointed at the smelly ball BB was holding.

"Actually, they're three months old." Beast Boy interjected.

"That's not the point!" the red-head glared at the changeling. Bee gave out a tired sigh and signaled to BB. The green titan's ears dropped in disappointment and rolled the ball to Cyborg.

"Alrigh' alrigh'." Bee raised both her hands up in surrender. "We won't do the four versus one.."

Speedy lowered his bow and arrows. He was about to say something when suddenly.

"STAAAAANNNK BALLLL!" Cyborg throws the stank ball up in the air.

"What?"

"How bout' two versus one then?" the east titan leader makes a peace sign along with a sheepish smile. The ball's shadow suddenly became bigger as the archer looked up. Raven was now up in the air next to the infernal ball. She does a scissor kick in the middle of the air and sends the stank ball straight at Speedy. The archer was in too much of a shock at the pace of the events that he just stood there and took the stinky pile of laundry in the face.

"Nice one Rae!" the others circled around the empath and congratulated her on her splendid kick.

"Nice.. kick…" that was the archer's last word before he barfed and passed out.

x-x-x-x

A few floors away from the others, Robin was impatiently staring at the monitor in his room. It had only been a minute when he sent a message to Batman but the reply felt like an eternity.

He unconsciously grabs a pencil from the table and began tapping it.

_Tap.. Tap.. Tap.. Tap.._

_It's been almost three months already…. _

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

_Raven shows no sign of regaining any of her memories, not until we get back the other pieces of her soul..._

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

_Even though we've been taking turns going with Herald dimension to dimension looking for signs of pieces of her soul, nothing…_

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

_I hope Herald and Star will find something in today's trip. We can't keep up this happy-go-lucky façade in front of Rae for long. Lately, she seems to have noticed._

The lead of the pencil has almost run out.

_Tap. Tap. Tap….. crack. _

The pencil gave in. And so did Robin's patience. He was about to slam his fist on the desk when the monitor lit up and showed that there's a call. The masked leader took a deep breath before answering the call.

"When I received your message I thought you were gonna ask me for some tips in balancing your taxes." A deep and stern voice came out from the screen.

"Hahaha… Very funny. So how's Al doing?" Robin tried to suppress a smile. Even though the man clad in a black bat costume only held a stern face, the masked boy knew that he was also very glad to see him.

"Alfred's fine. Still nagging about a lot of things but he's fine. I'm starting to think he'll outlive me." The man leaned a little towards the screen. "So you sent me this emergency message just to ask how Alfred is doing?... Maybe I should send a virus to your Tower." The man began typing on his keyboards.

"Wa?! Wait! Don't do that! I missed you too.! I missed you too!" The masked boy was frantic. He knew that even Cyborg won't be able to completely stop a virus created by Batman.

"You know…" the man's pointer finger was ready to drop and make the final click, his face still stern and unreadable. "I never knew you'd actually give in like that. And hearing you say that made me want to send it immediately."

_Click._

"No! Our data banks!" Robin was about to ready himself to counter a deadly virus when files started popping out of his screen. Pictures and different data on Raven and Aqualad appeared before the West titan leader.

"How…Where…." There were videos of some of the Titan's previous battles and activities in the Tower. There was even a short clip of them playing on the beach on the uninhabited island.

"I'm guessing you want me to give you information about these two." The Dark Knight's face was still the same but Robin knew that a smug smile was beneath that apathetic face.

"I never knew we had such an astounding stalker." The masked boy grinned. "Nothing ever gets pass you, huh."

"Naturally." Was the man's plain answer. "I recommend you take stalker remark. It's called surveillance. It's something needed in order not to get the world destroyed." A video of Beast Boy picking his nose in gorilla form suddenly popped out in one of the videos right after he said this.

"Riiiigghhtt. Surveillance."

"I still… *cough* haven't organized the videos yet." The masked boy couldn't help but stifle a laugh. Even the Dark Knight makes mistakes sometimes. That's what makes humans adorable don't you think.?

After a minute of deep breathing, Robin finally got to business. "Since you seem to have the gist of the situation, can you tell me anything that might help Raven? And can you tell me where Aqualad is right now? We've been trying to contact him ever since Rae's birthday party. He just disappeared without a word."

"I'm sad to say there's nothing I can do about the empath's condition since interdimensional travel and soul transmigration was never really my favorite topic. Besides, I think this is a problem that your team.. your family, have to take care of personally. On the amphibious humanoid… Aqualad..." the Dark Knight stared at the picture of the Atlantean on his screen, "that boy doesn't smile much anymore, huh." The off-hand remark caught the boy's attention.

"You knew him..? Oh yeah. He's Aquaman's partner."

"_Used_ to be. Those two stopped talking to each other for a long time already." The masked leader sensed the heaviness of his mentor's words.

"Can.. can you tell me about what happened between them? I think Aqualad's sociopathic attitude might have something to do with what happened to him in the past." The look of Aqualad's distant gaze passed by Robin's mind.

"I never knew you turned into such a gossip. You never liked it when I pried into other people's past, now here you are asking..."

"I have to! He's part of the Teen Titans. He's part of the family. And as the head, I have to make decisions that require me to be a bit nosy." It was true that he never liked it when Batman would pry into other people's lives in the old days. He felt like they were invading people's personal space and that it wasn't right. There are some things that people need to hide. Most of the time the secrets are dirty, especially political secrets, but others are more personal. They are wounds that people try to cover and bury. Every time they would peek into one of these wounds, he felt guilty. He knew that what Aqualad was hiding was one of those wounds, but he feels that he has to know.

"True. Unfortunately, I'm not obligated to tell you."

"But!"

"When you told me that you wanted to try out doing things by yourself, I believed that you weren't ready to leave the cave yet. But you left anyway. And after a while you were able to gather others around you and form the Teen Titans. Knowing that you have people around you made me more assured but I still worried so I observed you guys from time to time. There were times that I wanted to intervene but I held back and continued to just observe. I've seen you and your team overcome a lot of trials and I didn't have to do anything. You know why you guys were able to do it? It sure wasn't because of your half-baked leadership."

"Hey-!" Batman meant well. He just wanted to poke fun at Robin.

"It was because of the trust you guys have with one another _and _your half-baked leadership skills. You said that the Titans is your family now. So I don't think you should go ask help from an outsider. If you want to know what's bothering the Atlantean, ask him straight. If he still doesn't want to talk, then use the interrogation techniques I've taught you."

"That… I don't think threatening Aqualad by hanging him from the highest tower will work."

"Then take him to a sushi bar and tell him that you guys won't leave until everything's been resolved. That's what I used to do to Aquaman. It also proved to be useful when I wanted him to shut up." The masked leader could just imagine the face of the Atlantean if he would really do it. _That might just work. _He was carefully considering that when-

"What's this talk of raw fish, Master Bruce?" a familiar sovereign voice spoke off-screen.

"Is that Al?" the face of the Dark Knight's trusty aide emerged from the screen.

"Ah, young master Robin! Have you gotten skinnier? Are you eating well there? Don't tell me you've been gorging yourself on pizzas." The butler had a disapproving look.

"Ugh. No… I.. aww! But cooking is such a hassle..!" The boy tried to avoid eye contact out of guilt.

"You can always stop by here at the mansion if you want to eat something. Hmm. It's been a few years since we last heard from you. Is something the matter? Did you call to tell us you'll be coming home this Christmas? You never send any holiday cards."

"Ah…Uh.. Actually, it's Bruce that called…. And.. no… I don't think I can make it this Christmas. It's the busiest time of the year. Villains always seem to have something scheming during the holidays." The young master is now starting to remember how much of a nag Alfred can become when you don't send a holiday card. Well… it has been a couple of years since he last sent them, so he has every right to nag.

"Of course. I suppose. But would it hurt you to come pay us a visit from time to time. You don't know how much Master Bruce misses you."

"Alfred. I think—" the Dark Knight tried to interject but to no avail.

"You're coming at the age where you have to start thinking about the future young master Robin. Don't you have anyone special there that you might want to introduce to us?"

"Huh? What? What do you mean someone special?" Robin felt trouble coming.

"Master Bruce and I aren't getting any younger. It would mean the world to know if you're planning on settling down sometime. Because I'm as sure as bloody Hell that Master Bruce isn't."

"Wait! Wait! Hold on! What do you mean by that! I haven't even reached my twenties yet!"

"One can never start too early. I've actually done some research…" Alfred suddenly took out a thick folder and started rummaging through pages, "…and found that the Tamaranean race are quite resilient to Earthly diseases. They also don't have any traces of cancer cells in their physiology. Though they have shown to have some peculiarities during their adolescence… but that passes quite quickly. "

"Wha wha wha?" the image of a happy-go-lucky green-eyed alien girl appeared in the masked leader's mind when he heard Tamaranean. He instantly turned red. "Of all the things to research on, why Tamaraneans! That's enough joking around Al! Bruce, tell him!"

"No cancer cells you say.." the Dark Knight positioned himself into his contemplating stance.

"No.. no way! You aren't seriously considering what Al's saying!"

"Well… cancer cases have been growing these past few years.. and interplanetary union really isn't something new…"

"Indeed Master Bruce. Ah. That's right. Don't you have a Tamaranean companion there young master Robin? What was her name again?" Robin felt like a cornered rat. He wasn't ready to have such conversations with his adopted parent and close friend.

"IthinkIheartheotherscallingm erightnow! Sorry! Gotta go! Bye!" the screen on Batman's side turned black. The masked boy sign out and escaped.

"Well… that was mighty rude of the young master." The old butler scoffed and turned around. "I'll be readying your afternoon tea now, Master Bruce."

"Starfire."

"Sir?" the aide looked back, a bit confused at the answer.

"That's the name of Robin's Tamaranean sweetheart. Though I don't think their official yet."

"Hmm… I see he didn't inherit your playboy attitude. It would be great if he'd introduce her to us someday." The old man continued walking.

"Cancer cells… heh… you must have enjoyed yourself making fun of him after all these years."

"Not as much fun as you had, Sir." The butler smiled and left the cave.

Batman opened the files he showed Robin earlier. He looked at the Atlantean's picture. The boy's face was uncaring and his stare was cold. The Dark Knight opened another picture in one of his folders. A picture popped out in the main monitor. It was a picture of a muscular blond-haired Atlantean with a beard. On his shoulder was a young Atlanean boy smiling as he was pulling onto Batman's cape. Apparently he was urging the antisocial hero to come take a picture with them. Both of the Atlaneans were beaming with happiness and glee.

"I never brought you to any sushi bar after that fight you guys had. Seems like both of you wear a cold stare now." He closes the picture and opens up a new one. Raven's face was now in the monitor. "Looks like you didn't completely conquer the fear you have inside you little miss." He closes Raven's picture.

Silence fills the cave as Batman spends a few minutes just sitting on his chair, looking up at the ceiling. He looks back to his computer and sees a picture frame on top of the keyboard. "That wasn't there before." He picks up the frame and sees a picture of him, Robin and Alfred. It was the last Christmas they had together before the masked boy left. It was without a doubt that the cunning butler was the one that placed that picture frame there.

"Now...How will you handle this family problem, son..?"

W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W_W

I think Alfred's the man since he's able to handle Master Bruce and Young Master Robin so well. I never really got to find my writing muse but I sorta found a temporary one. Looking for inspiration, I even tried to draw. If you want to, you can check out the drawing on deviantart. my account's also called sybcj there... it's in the scrapbook section.


	26. State of Zinthos

**_Sup? If anyone is still reading this chaotic mass of words that is my writing, then you have my thanks. And my apologies as well. Truth be told I  
_****_reeeaaallllllyyyy can't seem to find the inspiration and reason to continue any of the incomplete stories I have here. I'm just not cut out to be a writer. But I feel guilty to_****_ those who were/still are waiting for this story to actually have an ending. So here it is... chapter 26, after weeks of staring at a blank microsoft word screen. This is what I come up with. Hope it still makes sense..._  
**

* * *

**Part 26: Zinthos... Emptiness and Pink Gooey Substance**

The state of emptiness... The state of Zinthos…

The freeing of the self to reach Zen (or in Raven's case Zinthos) requires letting one's self go or emptying the mind of insignificant worldly desires and all the other whatnot that you would often hear in yoga sessions.

The connotation of this emptiness, however, is different from the usual meaning of emptiness. The emptiness of Zinthos is like reorganizing your filing cabinet. You usually have to take out all the files (and what else you stuff in there) in the filing cabinet and arrange the files back, one by one. You reach the state of emptiness when you take the last object out the cabinet. You will then see the cabinet is empty but at the same time you know that it is full. After all, the files will be put back there eventually.

So the state of Zinthos is like emptying what is full in order to feel the fullness of being empty. Upon reaching this state, one will experience the emptiness to have been more filled than when it was full.

Feeling lost? It's alright. It was a watered down explanation of the state of Zinthos anyway. If you did get it, then congratz! You're on your way to being an empath! Just make sure to consult your local ancient scrolls before even trying to reach the state of Zinthos. If you don't get it, it's alright. The current Raven right now is also feeling a little lost.

The emptiness the young goth girl's feeling right now is different from the usual emptiness of Zintos. Her mind was vacuous. It was like there were files gone missing in the file cabinet of her mind. She knew that there was something missing, but she doesn't know what. Her teammates did tell her that something happened to her and that she has amnesia, but she knows that there's something else wrong. Unfortunately, her teammates play dumb and act like that's all there is to it.

It wasn't just her mind; it felt like her entire being was one unfinished painting.

_Besides…_ Raven thought, _what's been happening to me for the past few weeks isn't due to the so-called amnesia. _The half-demoness let out a long and tired sigh. The past events the young goth girl's been experiencing had been quite… peculiar. She would often find herself in the most strangest of places and situation. And what makes it frustrating for the dark bird is that the prior events that led her to such a situation and place would come out naught. As if she was led there unconsciously by some meddlesome force.

Again, the half-demoness let out an exhausted sigh as she remembers one of the more _fun "_peculiar events" she's been having.

"_Raven!?" a shocked and bewildered Robin shouted out to her. Her other teammates were also there, sharing the same look of shock, confusion and concern that their masked leader held._

_Raven struggled to look for a proper response to them, hoping to make the situation less awkward than it looked. "Uh.. Hi guys. How's it hanging?"_

_Her response was answered with a frown from her teammates. This was a natural response considering the goth girl was dangerously dangling from her window which was located a good fifty feet or so high above the hard solid ground. The only thing that separated her from plummeting and kissing the solid earth was her cape; it somehow luckily got itself stuck on a loose nail from the windowsill. _

"_Hold still and don't move! Starfire will come and get you!" the mask leader gestured to the Tamaranean. Starfire nodded and flew towards the dangling goth girl. Meanwhile, Beastboy and Cyborg positioned themselves below, ready to catch the half-demoness just in case the cape decided to give in._

"_Sure thing! Take your time. I'll just be enjoying the view here!" her teammates gave her a small smile, but the look of concern could still be seen. "Great.." Raven grumbled to herself, "just great… how am I gonna explain this to them..?"_

_When Raven was finally secured and taken to the ground she got an ear load from the boy wonder and others. The flimsy explanation that she gave to them as to why she was hanging like a Christmas ornament was that she wanted to see if she got back at least some of her powers back. It wasn't a total lie. But it wasn't the truth either._

"How could I tell them that I had no idea why I was there? Or that it wasn't the first time I spaced out and found myself in a less than desirable situation…" Raven took a deep breath. The only thing that came to mind every time she remembers that event was something about a promise and ice cream. But that was it. Nothing else. "Why ice cream?"

Again, the foreign emptiness seeps in.

x-x-x-x-x

"I believe the jive is up..."

The masked leader raised a brow at his companion. "I think you mean jig, Star. And what do you mean by that?"

"It means exactly what it means, Robin." Starfire absentmindedly pokes at the gooey pink substance on her plate. It was obvious that she was feeling quite irritated.

It was Cyborg and Beastboy's turn to go with Herald, looking for pieces of Raven's soul from different dimensions. So the masked leader and Tamaranean princess were the only ones currently there in the usually loud common room.

The boy wonder frowned. _Did she find out that I've been feeding Silkie her cooking? _The masked boy swallowed hard as he looks down at his own plate; he swears he saw something move in the gooey pink substance (called Starfire's cooking) just now.

"It's not as bad as you think Star." The masked leader calmly said while trying to gulf down a spoonful of the pink menace. It tasted like…ugh. Words can't describe the taste. Robin's tongue felt like it was decaying.

Robin heard a faint screeching sound as the Tamaranean stabbed the pink goo on her plate with the fork."How so?" She didn't bother to look up.

"Well…" Robin thought for a moment. One knows the dangers of bad-mouthing the Tamaranean princess' cooking, so careful and guided words must be used. "Not a lot of people can take such a strong and peculiar flavor but it's not that bad."

The alien princess finally looked up. Her brow rose, "I do not follow you…"

"Well I mean..." the masked boy avoided eye contact. He was now sweating profusely. "If given time… and training (for our stomachs) I'm sure it won't be that bad."

The red-head girl frowned, "I am sorry. I still cannot follow."

The masked boy steels himself. Looks like he's not going anywhere with this, he has to tell her bluntly. "Look, Star. I know you saw me give Silkie some of your cooking but it doesn't mean that the food you make is _that _bad. I mean, you just need to add a kilo of salt and pepper and the taste starts to be a whole lot better. Coz, well… it starts tasting like gooey salt and pepper... that's pink...But well… I mean… you see…." The masked leader started faltering. He was starting to regret not going along with Cyborg and the others.

"Robin." Starfire's face was unreadable.

Robin flinched before answering, "Yeah..?"

"I do not see how my cooking has something to do with our friend Raven's predicament."

"Huh? What?" the poor traffic light colored boy was now confused.

"I was talking about how Raven seems to have noticed that we are not telling her the whole truth about her situation." her brows furrowed before continuing, "And I am feeling quite vexed that we continue to pretend that everything's fine."

The masked leader sighed a huge wave of relief. "Oh… you were talking about that."

"Yes. And I wanted to ask you a favor from you. But before that…" Starfire cocked her head slightly to the side; a menacing smile crept on her face. Silkie, who was hiding below the table, ran out of the room, sensing impending danger. "What were you talking about my cooking..?"

"Umm….I… Uh…" Robin began to see an evil pink aura surrounding the Tamaranean princess. "Ah, crap.."

x-x-x-x-x

When Raven opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sun's blinding light. Just why was she looking out to the sun when minutes ago she was in her dark room, she doesn't know. She slammed her fists in frustration. Cold droplets of water hit her face. The liquid trickles down and reaches her mouth. It tasted salty.

The sound of waves crashing into the shore and seagulls squawking midst the skies reached her ears. She was floating in the middle of the sea; the T-tower was a good few meters away. _Great… _the goth girl sarcastically thought. _How am I gonna explain this? I was trying to see if I had proper knowledge on basic water buoyancy and propulsion so I jumped into the sea? _

It happened to her… again. _At the very least I'm floating.. Not dangling… or sinking. _Just as she thought this a huge wave engulfed her, sending her down the deep waters. She struggled to swim up to the surface, but it seemed like she was just swimming farther and farther away. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was the bright yellow sun, blurred by the cruel blue sea.

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_**Very short. I know. But this is the best I can do for now. The last time I wrote was a year ago, I believe. So Imma little rusty. Hopefully the next chapter will be waaayyy longer.. and better. If I'm able to write... maybe I should just stop for good. Anywho, you guys take care now.**_

_**Peace y'all! **_


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